LOCKPORT: Post office to hold Sunday hours to ease holiday crunch

Staff Reports

Lockport Union-Sun & Journal

The Lockport Post Office is one of several Buffalo-area post office branches that will be open on Sunday to help ease the holiday rush.

The Lockport branch, 138 East Ave., will be open from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Two other branches will also have hours Sunday: The Amherst branch, 5550 N. Bailey Ave., will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the Williamsville branch, 5423 Sheridan Drive, will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

In addition, the Buffalo Air Mail facility, 285 Cayuga Road, is open from 6 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week.

Monday is expected to be the busiest mailing day of the season, according to a press release from the U.S. Postal Service.

More than 20 billion pieces of mail are expected to be sent between Thanksgiving and Christmas, with December being the busiest month for mailing.

To avoid the long lines at the post office, customers can do much of their work online at www.usps.com.

“You don’t need to go to a post office to use the postal service,” said Diane Mineo, acting marketing manager for the U.S. Postal Service. ”At our usps.com site, a customer can print postage with a credit or debit card and request a free carrier-pick up without having to leave their home.”

The U.S. Postal Service has also released a list of several recommendations to help make sure a package arrives at its destination:

&
8226; Print addresses completely and clearly. A complete address must include the street number and name, an apartment or suite number if needed, the city, state and 5-digit ZIP code.

&
8226; Use the proper ZIP Code. ZIP codes can be found at www.usps.com, or by calling 1-800-ASK-USPS.

&
8226; Print the delivery and return addresses both on the same side of the envelope or package.

&
8226; Always use a return address.

&
8226; Check the weight of each package. Packages can weigh up to 70 pounds and measure up to 130 inches in combined length and width. The width is measured around the largest point of the package.

Delores Killette, vice president and consumer advocate for the U.S. Postal Service, said the service hopes to make packaging and shipping as fast and efficient as possible this holiday season.

“These mailing recommendations will help customers send their holiday cheer,” Killette said.

The postal service has also released a list of packaging tips:

&
8226; Make sure packages are able to withstand processing without the contents or packaging breaking. Use bubble wrap, newspaper or packing peanuts to cushion items, and wrap each item separately when sending more than one inside the same box. To check if there is enough cushioning, close and shake the box to see if the items are shifting.

&
8226; Remove batteries from electronic devices and wrap separately.

&
8226; Write “Fragile” in large print on the outside of the box when shipping materials that might be more likely to break, and write “Perishable” on packages that contain food or other items that can spoil.

&
8226; When reusing a box, make sure previous labels and markings are covered.

&
8226; Do not use string, cellophane and masking tape to seal packages. Use tape designed for sealing shipping boxes.

The postal service offers prepackaged shipping products and free, environmentally friendly boxes and envelopes for shipping. These can be ordered online at www.usps.com or picked up at a local post office branch.