Lakemore post office reopens 4 months after vehicle crash closed it

The Lakemore Village Post Office reopened Monday, four months after a vehicle crashed into the front of the building, cutting off service at the location.

Photos of the May 21 accident on social media showed an SUV with its front end smashed against a buckled segment of the post office facade.

Since that time, Lakemore residents had been retrieving their mail from the Uniontown Post Office, a stark change for many who regularly walked to the village post office for their letters and packages.

Council President Laura Cochran said she was pleased that residents' access to the post office was restored, but was concerned about the pace of repairs.

"It took so long ...118 days from the time that it closed," she said in a phone interview.

Access remains limited to normal operating hours until a door separating the lobby from post office boxes is installed, she said. Before the crash, residents had 24-hour access to their mail.

"The planning of the restoration could have been handled better," she said.

During the long process of repairs, Cochran and other Lakemore officials had to track down the company that purchased the building in February. American Postal Infrastructure, based in Chicago, owns about 790 post office structures across the country.

The company describes itself as a visionary corporation with plans to bring upgrades — including solar power, electric vehicle charging stations, business services, telemedicine and broadband — to the buildings it owns.

"With our vision and dedication, we will help deliver the post office of the future today!" the company's vision statement declares.

Despite its futuristic intentions, a company employee who declined to identify himself said in early July that API had no set timeline for the Lakemore Post Office repairs.

The Postal Service said at the time it, too, hadn't been informed when repairs were planned.

"USPS has not received information as to when the repairs will be made following the accident involving a vehicle hitting the building on May 21," Susan Wright, a strategic communications specialist with the U.S. Postal Service, said in an email July 2. "It is our hope the repairs will be made in the near future."

More: 'Not getting answers': Lakemore residents frustrated after car crash closes post office

Cochran and Mayor Richard Cole sought help from area legislators and communicated with API to speed along the repairs.

"We never got good information," Cochran said.

Cole said in July about 615 households covered by the post office don't receive home delivery, relying instead on 24-hour access to free post office boxes.

Residents online expressed enthusiasm Monday about the opening on a Lakemore community page. Earlier posts a few weeks after the accident had expressed concern the post office would be closed.

Cochran said she expects expanded access will come eventually.

"It will open for the box section for 24 hours, but we don't know when," she said. "It will eventually go back to the way it had been previously."

Leave a message for Alan Ashworth at 330-996-3859 or email him at aashworth@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconj or Facebook at www.facebook.com/alan.newsman.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Lakemore post office reopens 4 months after vehicle crash closed it