Postmaster: 'I can't do anything' about long lines at new Post Office' Postmaster: 'I can't do anything' about long lines at new Post Office' (October 19, 2001)

By Bill D'Agostino

On a recent trip to the post office, Council member Rosemary Stasek noted there was a 20-person line that barely moved. Stasek's concerns are familiar to many who have faced long waits at the newly reopened post office on Hope Street.

Postmaster Kenneth L. Baker said there is "nothing" he can do about the lines, noting that he keeps all the windows open and staffed during heavy use periods.

Since opening last month, Baker commented, the post office has been attractive to a plethora of residents in Los Altos and Sunnyvale as well as Mountain View patrons.

People frustrated with the long lines should go to the station on Miramonte, Baker said. "There are two stations in the city, not just one."

Baker also remarked that lines are often slowed by patrons with packages with incomplete forms whose mail is not ready when they approach the front.

"Our goal is to have people wait no longer than five minutes," Baker added, "but if I have long lines there, I can't do anything about it."