[RP TownTalk] this is crazy (USPS zipcode/name "system")

[Dwight Holmes]

I assume some of you are following the current thread on the
Hyattsville HOPE list re the frustrations of events that occur outside
the city limits of Hyattsville being reported in the media as having
occurred in Hyattsville...

my own beef is that you can't even type "Riverdale Park MD" into the
USPS' zip code search and get any information -- instead you get an
error message.  friends from out of town were coming this way and
called me and said "Where do you live? Yahoo (or whichever online map
service it was they were using, I forget) doesn't recognize Riverdale
Park MD".  This is absurd.

i wrote USPS and got a wholly unsatisfactory response; short on logic,
wrong on facts. (their reply is below, near the bottom of this msg)

i just did some poking around on USPS' site:  if you look up the zip
code 20722 you get this information:

==============================
Actual City name in 20722
BRENTWOOD, MD
Acceptable City names in 20722
COLMAR MANOR, MD
COTTAGE CITY, MD
N BRENTWOOD, MD
NO BRENTWOOD, MD
NORTH BRENTWO, MD
NORTH BRENTWOOD, MD
Not Acceptable
BRENTWD, MD
==============================

but if you look up 20737 you get this:

==============================
Actual City name in 20737
RIVERDALE, MD
==============================

and if you look up Riverdale Park MD you get this:

==============================
We're sorry! We were unable to process your request.

Please complete the field(s) indicated below.
* Required Fields
All field labels with a * are required 			
* City 		
* City
	
  		Please enter a city.
==============================
Clearly, Colmar Manor, Cottage City and North Brentwood are in the
same situation as Riverdale Park: They are legally incorporated towns,
with specific boundaries. The USPS recognizes them as "acceptable city
names" but does not recognize Riverdale Park as such.

Here's what USPS' reply to me said:

===========================
Response (Kimberly E) - 04/02/2007 11:26 AM
Dear DWIGHT HOLMES,

Thank you for contacting us about the ZIP Code 20737.

I do apologize, but the ZIP Code 20737 only has one city associated
with it. The ZIP Code 20737 is associated to Riverdale, MD only.
According to our system Riverdale Park does not have a distinctive ZIP
Code.  This occurs with suburbs and surrounding communities.  The ZIP
Code is for the purpose of routing to the appropriate city for sorting
and distribution.

If I can be of assistance to you in the future, please don't hesitate
to contact me. Thank you for choosing the United States Postal
Service(r).

Regards,

Kimberly E
===========================

The crux is "according to our system" -- this is not something written
in stone; it's the result of arbitrary decisions, with no apparent
basis in logic or common sense.

I know there's a history to this, somebody said as much on this list.
I don't know what avenues were used to try to remedy the situation.
It looks like there are efforts afoot in Hyattsville to try to deal
with this as well (though maybe more on the media side than on the
USPS side). It occurred to me that maybe some joint task force from
both towns might have more success???


-- 
"Donna the Buffalo are like Dylan meets the Wailers via Louisiana and
Appalachia."