Package lockers installed in Union, ready for use ahead of fall semester
By Tyler Story, Contributing Writer
Package lockers for residential students have been installed in the University Union and are ready for use ahead of the fall semester.
The new lockers are on the first floor of the Union in front of the Post Office.
Students can now retrieve their packages during the Union’s operating hours, which is 7 a.m.-10:30 p.m. every day. Previously, packages could only be picked up during the Post Office’s business hours, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on weekdays.
Recipients will open the lockers with a code emailed to them when the package arrives, The Towerlight previously reported. Students will approach a touch screen near the lockers, input their unique code and retrieve their package.
Students cannot direct their packages to the lockers, according to Postal Retail Supervisor Terri Kotschenreuther.
Post Office staff will select whether to direct the package to a locker or require pickup at the Post Office window, and this information will be included in the email alerting students of their delivery, Kotschenreuther said. This decision will depend on the package size and availability of the lockers.
Mail will not be delivered directly to the residence halls in West Village for the time being, Kotschenreuther said.
West Village residents have not been limited to the hours of the Post Office and have been able to pick up their mail at their convenience at the front desk of their residence hall. Now, packages to West Village residents will have priority to go into a locker, according to Kotschenreuther.
The Towerlight could not confirm whether the installation of the lockers influenced the halting of mail service to West Village residence halls by publication Thursday evening.
From research to installation, the project took almost a year to complete, Director of Parking and Transportation Pamela Mooney said in an email Thursday. This process included acquiring funding and administrative approval.
By planning for the time requirements of specific tasks, such as legal review and equipment delivery, the project was completed within the targeted time frame for use beginning in the fall, Mooney said.
The Parking and Transportation Department is working on adding lockers to the Union Garage, Mooney said in the email.
“Our department is here to provide efficient and professional services to the campus community,” she said. “With this in mind, we routinely look for better ways we can serve the campus, in particular the students.”
Package pickup from lockers in the parking garage would be available 24/7.
Gabriel Donahue contributed to this story.
