Kenosha News. October 30, 2022.
Editorial: Latest ZIP codes shouldn’t just zip through unchecked
At first blush we were delighted to see Wisconsin politicians teaming up on laws to provide residents of the villages of Caledonia, Mount Nice and Somers their very own unique ZIP codes for mail delivery.
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and Congressman Bryan Steil, proposed the change as they introduced twin bills for Congress last week.
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“After hearing from residents and community leaders in Racine and Kenosha County about their frustrations with mail delivery mix-ups brought on by outdated ZIP code boundaries, I used to be pleased to work with Sen. Johnson to assist,” said Steil, a Janesville Republican.
He said, “This common sense laws instructs USPS to simplify and modernize these boundaries, saving many Southeast Wisconsin residents from useless headaches.”
Indeed, ZIP code allocations and mailing addresses do seem counter-intuitive at times with some residents of Caledonia listing their mailing address as Racine, and a few Kenosha County residents also listing Racine as their mailing address.
And we have now little doubt that having the ability to use your personal village name as your mailing address would construct community pride and foster a greater sense of identity to the three growing area villages. Geographic boundaries are something we are able to all relate to.
However the five-digit ZIP codes that were introduced nationwide in 1963 after which enhanced in 1983 when the USPS introduced ZIP+4 codes to permit sorting by block, street or constructing were developed to help within the efficient sorting and routing of mail – they weren’t developed with the thought of nurturing community identity.
That system has resulted in some quizzical ZIPs in the realm – just like the 53182 code that stretches all the way in which from the Town of Paris in Kenosha County, north through Union Grove after which almost to Wind Lake.
The Village of Caledonia has at the least three ZIP codes and we have now to wonder what’s going to occur in the event that they all get merged into one code that reflects the village’s boundaries.
Before Johnson and Steil’s proposal sails through Congress we might urge lawmakers to get some input from the USPS on exactly how this could be implemented – and, yes, what the price could be. We don’t know if it might be a straightforward matter of reprogramming sorting machines or if it might affect actual mail routes. We might hope that it might be a straightforward, non-disruptive change, but Congress should take a look at that.
We are saying that because USPS has been struggling financially and last yr posted a $4.9 billion net loss. That got here on top of a $9.2 billion loss in 2020, in keeping with Reuters news reports. That triggered a cost-cutting campaign that included slower delivery of some first-class mail – one-to-three day service standards were modified to one-to-five days. First-class stamp prices were increased to 58 cents from 55 cents.
We like the thought of promoting community identity through single unique community ZIP codes, but before we march down that road, we would like to know if we are able to afford it.
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