There won't be any mailboxes on Main Street in Union Bridge.

The Town Council approved an ordinance yesterday banning mailboxes on the narrow, heavily traveled street, resolving a months-old issue.

The placement of mailboxes along Main Street became an issue in April. Then-U.S. Postmaster General Marvin Runyon, who retired in May, announced that rural residents who live within a quarter-mile of a post office are eligible for free post office boxes if a mail carrier does not pass their houses.

A mail carrier does pass the houses on Main Street from Route 75 to the southern border of Union Bridge, which made the residents eligible for mailbox delivery. But town officials said mailboxes would crowd Main Street sidewalks and postal vehicles would create traffic backlogs.

To resolve the issue, the council adopted an ordinance banning mailboxes on Main Street. The ordinance also applies to newspaper boxes.

None of the affected residents attended last night's council meeting.

Mayor Perry L. Jones said he believes Main Street residents are generally happy with the ordinance, which effectively guarantees them free postal boxes at the Union Bridge Post Office.

Residents will have to continue to walk to the post office at 111 Primrose Ave. to collect their mail. Several residents told the council last month that they didn't mind the walk. They will no longer have to pay the $12 annual box rental fee.

"I would prefer a slot on the house, but the boxes are unsightly," Main Street resident Mary-Margaret Myers told the council in June.

Pub Date: 7/28/98