Stamping the foot: Carriers walk to reduce fuel consumption

Jeff Cochrane wears black Reeboks to work. The mail carrier walks seven to nine miles a day and likes the variety of delivering the day's bills, pizza coupons and birthday cards. His vehicle was parked Monday as he delivered mail to apartment buildings on Kimberly Drive in DeKalb. It's called a park-and-loop route, where carriers will park their vehicles and walk a section, then drive to the next section. It's not a new delivery method, but it has become an increasingly important way to deliver the mail as post offices try to save on fuel costs. Fuel prices have “attacked” the U.S. Postal Service, said Tim Ratliff, a spokesman for the agency's northern Illinois district. The Postal Service operates the largest civilian vehicle fleet in the