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Handrails on new post office steps go back to old location, elicit comments

At first blush, it looks like another bureaucratic SNAFU. The newly installed railing on the newly installed cement steps outside the Barber Conable Post Office Building in Downtown Batavia encloses more than half the structure.

The design has drawn derisive comments on social media, such as “Great example of wasting tax dollars.”

There is an explanation, said Mark Lawrence, strategic communications specialist for the USPS in WNY.

“The Batavia Post Office had a water infiltration issue that could only be accessed by removing a large portion of the front steps and the handicap-accessible ramp,” Lawrence told The Batavian in an email. “The repairs were completed and the front steps were returned to their original state. The handrails are in the original location, as they previously were, in order to reduce slips, trips, and falls.”

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