Sep 7, 2023 - News

N.C. congressional delegation calls for changes to RTP postal service

Lucille Sherman

Illustration of a mailbox with fire coming out of it. — Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios

Members of North Carolina's congressional delegation are calling on the United States Postal Service to address infrastructure problems in fast-growing Research Triangle Park that have been a "significant inconvenience" to residents and businesses.

Why it matters: RTP is the largest research park in the United States. It is home to 60,000 employees and nearly 400 companies, including Apple, IBM, Fidelity, Wolfspeed and Cisco, all of which contribute a significant boost to North Carolina's economy.

Driving the news: In a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a bipartisan group of lawmakers — Republican U.S. Sens. Ted Budd and Thom Tillis, along with Democratic Reps. Deborah Ross and Valerie Foushee — said the post office should implement carrier delivery service in the area, as businesses and residents in RTP are currently forced to retrieve their mail exclusively from the sole post office there.

Under a recent change at RTP's post office, only mail addressed to a P.O. Box will be delivered, dozens of businesses explained in a letter also sent to DeJoy. Any incoming mail that includes a street address will be returned to the sender.

Threat level: The mailing infrastructure in RTP has cost these businesses time and money and could jeopardize their compliance with global and federal regulatory bodies, the businesses said in the letter.

And the new policy change may force some businesses to leave RTP altogether if the post office doesn't amend the rule, Scott Levitan, CEO and president of RTP, told the News & Observer.

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N.C. congressional delegation calls for changes to RTP postal service

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