Postal services

The announcement that Cape Girardeau soon will be getting a post office substation on Kingshighway is welcome, though it only partially solves the city's postal-service issue of accessibility.

The new substation going into the Bi-State Oil Co. convenience store at 920 N. Kingshighway is scheduled to open by the middle of this month. It will offer all the services normally available at a post office save two: post office boxes and money orders.

Complaining about a leaky roof, the U.S. Postal Service moved out of its leased building at 329 N. Frederick St. in March 2004 and into a cramped storefront on Christine Street on the western side of town. As limited as the Christine Street building is, it has provided postal patrons who live or work on the west side of town with easier access to postal services.

Over the objections of those who lobbied for the postal service to move permanently to a more central location, last April the postal service bought the Frederick Street building and has been making repairs due to be completed by mid-November.

Parking is one advantage the convenience store has over both the Frederick Street and Christine Street locations. The convenience store has approximately 30 parking spaces, though some are in back of the store. Both of the store's two entrances are on the front side.

The U.S. Postal Service will pay Bi-State owner Scott Blank $37,000 annually to operate the substation, which will be inside the convenience store in unused office space. Blank will provide the staffing.

The substation's lack of post office boxes points to the fact that Cape Girardeau still needs a second full-service postal facility on the city's west side. It would be unfortunate if no effort is made to get a full-service substation where the city's commercial and residential growth are concentrated.