Community mailbox plan not set in stone, says Canada Post

Some residents in St. John's aren't happy with the proposed locations of community mailboxes in their neighbourhoods, but Canada Post says there's still time for consultation and plans aren't yet set in stone.

City council has received a number of complaints from residents who are opposed to the proposed site of the new mailboxes.

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But Canada Post spokesperson Jon Hamilton said the public still has time to consult with customer service about any issues they have.

At the end of the day, the box has to go somewhere and it has to be convenient for the people that are going to be served- Canada Post spokesperson Jon Hamilton

"No two communities are alike, there is no cookie-cutter approach. We have to do our work and then we have the discussions at the municipal level and then also discussion at the street level to see if adjustments can be made, if there are alternatives that we didn't look at, so that’s the process we're in," said Hamilton.

Hamilton said if residents haven't spoken with a Canada Post representative in person about it, they can call a toll-free customer service line to ensure their issue with a proposed location is on the record.

Smaller mailboxes mean more locations

According to Hamilton, when a survey was initially sent out about what residents would prefer — a larger mailbox further away, or more smaller ones closer to home.

Around 90 per cent of people opted for the smaller mailbox option, but he said there's also a drawback to that.

"We have to find more locations to satisfy that, so that’s what we've been doing," Hamilton said.

"At the end of the day, the box has to go somewhere and it has to be convenient for the people that are going to be served. Most people will walk to the box, especially when that’s what they were looking for in the first place."

According to Hamilton, Canada Post was able to relocate the mailboxes in roughly 700 locations across Canada last year, but sometimes that option isn't available.

He added that converting people from door-to-door mail delivery to a community mailbox approach is a long process, and there are unique challenges in St. John's.

But he said the final plan will likely look a lot different than what Canada Post initially starts with, after consultation is completed.