Potential Impacts Surrounding the Papal Visit

/Potential Impacts Surrounding the Papal Visit

Potential Impacts Surrounding the Papal Visit

The information below has been used to update the current Service Disruption Report located on USPS Service Alerts:

Philadelphia and surrounding areas

1429260931_Due to expected impacts to air transportation and ground transportation networks due to security measures around the Papal visit September 25 ‚Äì 27, USPS anticipates potential delays to mail in a broader area around the Philadelphia Metropolitan area.  Customers could see delays in products destined to the following locations and being sent from the following locations:

  • Philadelphia area ZIP Codes starting with 189, 190, 191, and 194 for First Class Mail, Priority Mail, and Priority Express Mail products.
  • Southern New Jersey ZIP Codes starting with 080, 081, 082, 083, and 084 for First Class Mail, Priority Mail, and Priority Express Mail products.
  • Delaware ZIP Codes starting with 197, 198, 199, 193 for First Class Mail, Priority Mail, and Priority Express Mail products.
  • Harrisburg PA area ZIP Codes starting with 169-179, 195, and 196 for First Class Mail and Priority Mail products.
  • Lehigh Valley PA area Zip Codes starting with 180 ‚Äì 188 for First-Class Mail and Priority Mail products.

USPS Plans for Pope Francis Visit to the U.S.

From September 22 thru 27, 2015, Pope Francis will be making a series of stops in the United States.   He will be visiting Washington DC on September 23 ‚Äì 24 where he will meet with the President, conduct a mass, and speak to a joint session of Congress.  On September 25, he will visit New York City where he will speak to the United Nations, conduct a service at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, and hold mass at Madison Square Garden.  The Pope will conclude his visit in Philadelphia September 26 ‚Äì 27 where he will conduct mass, visit Independence Hall, visit those attending the World Meeting of Families, and conduct a mass with those at the World Meeting.

Where ever Pope Francis travels, he generates enormous crowds and these events are no exception.  Security will be tight in all cases and could impact some postal operations.  This alert is designed to share the impacts we have already identified.

For the Papal Visits to New York City and Washington DC:

The events will be limited, short in duration, and can be secured more easily.  At this time, only minimal/limited delays to deliveries and collections in the immediate area of events are expected.  If events change to identify more significant impacts, this information will be updated.

For the Papal Visit to Philadelphia:

The Philadelphia event has been declared a national security event (like a Super Bowl).  In association with the Papal visit and related events in Philadelphia PA, a large section of the downtown area will be designated as a security perimeter from Sept 25 ‚Äì 27.  These security measures will restrict the ability of the USPS to conduct deliveries and retail operations in this area. 

In preparation for these impacts, the Eastern Area and Philadelphia Metropolitan District have already contacted many of their local customers to share the impacts.  They have contacted media, posted signs, and will mail an EDDM piece to over 97,000 impacted customers.  To assist with their efforts, we are notifying customers and industry members of the following impacts:

Delivery impacts:

  • Thursday, Sept 24, 2015 ‚Äì Collection boxes in the impacted Philadelphia downtown area will be removed and locked.
  • Friday, Sept 25, 2015 ‚Äì the Philadelphia Main Office (19104), William Penn Delivery Annex (19107), Fairmount (19130) Station, and Spring Garden (19122) Station will adjust their delivery schedule to have carriers complete delivery by 1:00 pm. 
  • Saturday and Sunday, Sept 26 -27, 2015 ‚Äì There will be no delivery or collection of mail in these same areas.
  • Monday, Sept 28, 2015 ‚Äì USPS will return to full operations with delivery and collection of mail.

Retail Impacts:

  • Thursday, Sept 24 thru Sunday, Sept 27, 2015 ‚Äì The Philadelphia Main Post Office (19104) lobby will only be open between 6:00 am and 9:00 pm.
  • Friday, Sept 25, 2015 ‚Äì The B. Free Franklin (19106), 30thStreet Train (19104), Continental (19106), Land Title (19110), Penn Center (19102), and Wannamaker (19107) Stations will be closed.  The Fairmount (19130), Middle City (19103), Penns Landing (19147), Spring Garden (19122), University City (19104), and William Penn Annex (19107) Stations will close at 12:00 pm.  The Philadelphia Main Post Office (19104) will close at 4:00 pm.
  • Saturday, Sept 26, 2015 ‚Äì Fairmount (19130), B. Free Franklin (19106), Middle City (19103), Penns Landing (19147), Spring Garden (19122), William Penn Annex (19107), and Philadelphia Main Office (19104) stations will be closed.
  • Sunday, Sept 27, 2015 ‚Äì Philadelphia Main Post Office (19104) will be closed and have no lobby access.
  • Monday, Sept 28, 2015 ‚Äì All offices will resume normal hours.

Remittance impacts:

  • Customers who normally pick up remittance mail in the impacted stations on Saturday and Sunday will be able to pick up their mail at the Lindbergh Plant.  Persons/couriers picking up mail at the plant must bring identification to pick up mail.  Any remittance mail not picked up at the plant Saturday/Sunday will be forwarded to appropriate office where the customer regularly picks up their mail for Monday Sept 28 availability.

FAST appointment impacts: 

  • While the Philadelphia P&DC and Philadelphia NDC will remain open and operational, significant delays are expected along the I-95 corridor into Philadelphia during the Papal visit.  Mailers, who would normally drop mail at the Philadelphia P&DC (190) and the Philadelphia NDC (19Z) on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday (Sept 25 ‚Äì 27), are advised (to the extent possible) to drop their mail by Thursday 9/24 to avoid potential delays and road closures.  They may also choose to schedule their drops after Sept 25 ‚Äì 27, when normal operations resume on Monday Sept 28.
2019-08-01T11:58:31+00:00