Dead grass. Empty planter boxes.
Check out post offices in other communities and see if they can match the ambiance of the United States Postal Service’s main Manteca office on Maple Avenue and Center Street.
The decorative planter boxes along the handicap ramp have water pipe stubs but they’ve been barren for years.
The Postal Service does keep the grass mowed even though the lawn area looks as though it might be on life support.
It’s funny how people bemoan the fact the homeless can make Wilson Park behind the Post Office look like a pig pen at time with all of their worldly possessions in tow, but the lack of pride displayed by one of the busiest spots downtown is stunning.
Why did the taxpayers pay for planter boxes to be part of the handicap ramp if all they were going to be used for was a catch-all for litter? If barren dirt is the landscaping you’d think the Postal Service could at least yank out of what remains of several bushes instead of leaving part of the long dead greenery sticking out of the ground.
As for the lawn, why not save water and eliminate the blight look by going to low water use — and low maintenance — landscaping while employing bark or some other material to cover the ground? The Postal Service obviously pays someone to mow the grass. It would be cheaper — and look a lot better — in the long run to have drought resistant landscaping instead to reduce labor needs and water costs.
The 100 block of North Maple Avenue is remarkable in that all of the private sector landlords and merchants have made it appealing. The city last month working with the Manteca Garden Club as well as Manteca Rotary and Manteca Morning Rotary spiffed up the parking lot plaza across the street from the Post Office.
Perhaps the Postal Service can show some pride and step up their game as well.
 As it stands now the landscaping is more appropriate for a dead letter office than a vibrant Postal Service office.