Dorval resident dumps pile of dirt to stop community mailboxes
Canada Post says West Island man's attempt to thwart end of door-to-door delivery could hurt neighbours
A Dorval man has dumped a massive pile of dirt on his front lawn, and he's considering moving his entire driveway — all in the hope of preventing community mailboxes from being built in front of his home.
Hans Dybka said when he found out in December that Canada Post wanted to build three large mailboxes on the public portion of the front lawn of his home on Strathmore Boulevard, he refused outright.
"They suggested it won't be very far for [me] to walk, and my response was, 'No thank you, I don't want it here. Find someplace else to put it,'" Dybka told CBC Daybreak host Mike Finnerty.
When he heard Canada Post planned to proceed with the project anyway, he got creative.
"I just went out, it took me two hours to dig through the snow ... I dug it out to allow a truck to be able to come and dump [7.64 cubic metres] of black soil on the front lawn and I set up the metal fence."
That pile of dirt is now obstructing the spot where Canada Post had hoped to build its mailboxes.
And if that doesn't work — Dybka said he has another idea in his back pocket.
"I went to the city, and I got a construction permit, and I guess I'm going to have to build a new driveway, which will basically force Canada Post off of that area of the property, because there's a regulation they have to be three meters away from any driveway," he said.
New location for mailboxes will inconvenience others, Canada Post says
Canada Post spokeswoman Annick Losier said a lot of thought went into picking a location for the community mailboxes that was accessible and central to the forty or so people who will be using them.
She could not confirm if Canada Post will be forced to move the site as a result of Dybka's actions.
Losier said if they do have to be relocated, it will be a major inconvenience for Dybka's neighbours.
"We're going to need to look at it and see if we need to move it much farther, which means that not only this particular resident, but all residents may be penalized and have to travel farther to get their mail, unfortunately," she said.