Mail boxes in new subdivision

[QueenCat]

It'll take about a minute to get used to it. My town just celebrated it's 50th anniversary and it has always had cluster mailboxes, so it's not a new idea. 

 

 

Yes! That particular town had the cluster mailboxes when I moved there in the late 1960s.

[TheReader]

We have that sort where we live, and I actually like it, for the most part. 

 

Yes, FedEx & UPS (and USPS, if the package is oversized) still deliver to your door. You still have an outgoing mail slot to drop in any mail you need to send out (and neighbors tend to drop wrongly delivered mail in that slot as well). And, you have a keyed box, so less worry about your mail stacking up while on vacation (and someone noticing), or things getting stolen, etc. 

 

Yes, it's a mild hassle to walk down to the bank of mailboxes, but not that much. And then if you have dogs, you don't have that annoying daily barkfest when the mailman shows up, so that's nice ;) 

[Ellie]

 

Now I'm back to a single box per house, and I don't honestly see a lot of advantages except for being able to customize the appearance of the mailbox.

 

Well, you don't have to get in your car and drive to your mailbox. That right there is worth everything, lol.

 

[KungFuPanda]

This is because of a money saving policy the USPS has pushed since 2012. You can read more about it here.

 

Yes. This is why I don't nderstand anyone passing up on a house over the mailbox. Your town could change over whenever the USPS gets around to it and you're living in your second favorite house for a few extra years of mail at your driveway?

 

Emily

  

 

Some of the very old neighborhoods in our town have the walk up mailboxes, but the vast majority have the individual boxes on the road in front of each house. 

 

We had a neighbor in this condo (where everyone has the key boxes) who had a regular mailbox at her door. I've never seen her leave the place, but she would have visitors. She was either very old or disabled or both. I wonder if she was able to get some sort of exemption to the cluster boxes because of a medical condition or if she may have lived here before the cluster boxes were installed and was able to keep her mailbox. 

 

When she left, and the place was sold, the mailbox was removed.

 

 

 

 

Yes! That particular town had the cluster mailboxes when I moved there in the late 1960s.

  

 

The city itself has cluster mailboxes, but the outparcels have regular driveway mailboxes. I don't know if the outparcels were the original homes that were in place before a city was formed or what, but the lines are certainly confusing and irregular.

 

We have that sort where we live, and I actually like it, for the most part. 

 

Yes, FedEx & UPS (and USPS, if the package is oversized) still deliver to your door. You still have an outgoing mail slot to drop in any mail you need to send out (and neighbors tend to drop wrongly delivered mail in that slot as well). And, you have a keyed box, so less worry about your mail stacking up while on vacation (and someone noticing), or things getting stolen, etc. 

 

Yes, it's a mild hassle to walk down to the bank of mailboxes, but not that much. And then if you have dogs, you don't have that annoying daily barkfest when the mailman shows up, so that's nice ;)

 

My house is in the middle of the street. My dog likes to bark while the mailman fills both kiosks on my road. He's a delight that way :-/. Of course if the mailman had to hit each house that would take longer so there's no winning with my neurotic pup.

[Caroline]

 

 

 

 

The city itself has cluster mailboxes, but the outparcels have regular driveway mailboxes. I don't know if the outparcels were the original homes that were in place before a city was formed or what, but the lines are certainly confusing and irregular.

 

 

My house is in the middle of the street. My dog likes to bark while the mailman fills both kiosks on my road. He's a delight that way :-/. Of course if the mailman had to hit each house that would take longer so there's no winning with my neurotic pup.

I know some of the outparcels are subdivisons built on land that was not sold to start the new city. They ones near where I grew up were built in the 1980's after the orchard was passed down. (That should give you enough info to figure out which ones I am taking about ha ha.) I believe at least one of the orgininal farmhouses is still there.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

Hmm, it doesn't seem weird to me at all.  Our house has mailboxes like that (we've been here 12 years), and our last house did as well (we were there since 2000).  So, it's not really a new thing.

 

The central boxes are locked, so are much more secure (mail theft is a big problem these days).  The new units (which allow large mail to lie flat), have larger parcel boxes that accommodate all but the largest packages.  Super large boxes stay at the post office and we get a pink slip.  UPS still delivers to our house, as does FedEx.  

 

I don't mind stopping at the box on my way home, or walking there to get the mail.  Sometimes that's the only thing that gets me out of the house, so it's a good thing.  

 

 

Incidentally, we recently bought a condominium in town for our daughter to live in while attending university.  It has a cluster of mailboxes inside the building.  We had to wait for the post office to make us a new key.  Apparently, they now re-key all mailboxes.  They don't just pass on the old key.  It was a pain having to wait (they held the mail at the post office during the interim, so we had to go get it).  But, it does give a better sense of security knowing that no one else has a key to our mailbox.

[wintermom]

These are really common in Canada. Pretty much all neighbourhoods are switching over, even in the cities. They've been the norm in rural location for as long as I can remember. Canada is different though in that mail was traditionally delivered to a mail box right at your door or through a drop slot in the door. I guess the community boxes were started in the areas where the mail carriers would have had to walk much to far to complete their routes. Things are changing now though and Canada Post is feeling the pinch from the courier companies so they're trying to save money wherever they can.

 

It's a cost saving measure as Canada Post is going broke. Canada Post is phasing out all door-to-door delivery expect for special cases (e.g., physical needs).

[scoutingmom]

It's a cost saving measure as Canada Post is going broke. Canada Post is phasing out all door-to-door delivery expect for special cases (e.g., physical needs).

Not since the election...

 

https://www.thestar.com/business/2016/05/06/halted-community-mailbox-program-cost-canada-post-76m.html

[Laura Corin]

Well, you don't have to get in your car and drive to your mailbox. That right there is worth everything, lol.

 

How far are we talking?

[wintermom]

Not since the election...

 

https://www.thestar.com/business/2016/05/06/halted-community-mailbox-program-cost-canada-post-76m.html

 

Oh that's right. I forgot, because those the people around here that were changed over to community mailboxes still have them. 

[TravelingChris]

I have a mailbox on my property at the street.  It is a locked mailbox but just for us. Larger packages by USPS and any packages by Fedex or UPS are left at the door.  I did once live in a house where there was a community box.  It was probably closer than my box is now to my front door.  There have been a few new houses built in my neighborhood but no new community boxes here.