This past week my family became new users of a This past week my family became new users of a super mailbox. They allow the postal service to deliver the mail to a large number of residents in one location. This seemed extremely odd since when super mailboxes were introduced in the 1980's - Canada Post clearly indicated that homes that received home delivery would not be affected. Well, my home has had mail delivery for the past 90 years. I was curious so I called up Canada Post to find out what prompted the change.
To clarify: we did receive a letter delivered to our house indicating the change was taking place to protect the safety of our letter carrier, who, the letter said, initiated the complaint to the union. A little ironic that it was fine for the letter carrier to deliver that piece of mail.
According to a supervisor at Oakville's Central Depot, it is unsafe to deliver mail to homes on Reynolds due to a lack of side walks and increased traffic. I've lived on Reynolds for the last six years, during which time, traffic has not greatly increased, and in two years it will, in fact, decrease dramatically when the hospital moves to 3rd Line & Dundas. These decisions are not made lightly according the supervisor, since South-East Oakville has a reputation of fighting government mandated change. He indicated that a survey company was hired to check what the volume of traffic was on Reynolds. According to the study it was determined that it was unsafe to deliver the mail to homes without side walks. Obviously, no one on Reynolds wants letter carriers to be hurt delivering the mail.According to a supervisor at Oakville's Central Depot, it is unsafe to deliver mail to homes on Reynolds due to a lack of side walks and increased traffic. I've lived on Reynolds for the last six years, during which time, traffic has not greatly increased, and in two years it will, in fact, decrease dramatically when the hospital moves to 3rd Line & Dundas. These decisions are not made lightly according the supervisor, since South-East Oakville has a reputation of fighting government mandated change. He indicated that a survey company was hired to check what the volume of traffic was on Reynolds. According to the study it was determined that it was unsafe to deliver the mail to homes without side walks. Obviously, no one on Reynolds wants letter carriers to be hurt delivering the mail.
I contacted Canada Post's head office to see what they had to say, and according to a supervisor of customer service, the change was not mandated by a study, but rather due to a corporate change (i.e. cost cutting) on how mail is delivered across the country. So what is the real story - was it a corporate transition or a safety issue? It could be both.
After a little more digging - it came to light that After a little more digging - it came to light that Trafalgar Road homes without sidewalks lost home delivery several years ago. It was a safety concern, brought forward by the letter carrier. Trafalgar Road is an extremely busy street. However, if it is so unsafe, why do children who attend public school and live on Reynolds and Trafalgar not have buses pick them up and drop them off? Are school children not as important as mail carriers?
Currently, only Reynolds has lost its home mail delivery, since Allan Street has not been added to the list of unsafe delivery routes. Imagine when Canada Post decides to look at Morden, Chartwell, or Jones? It appears that to avoid an outright revolt, Canada Post has decided to take make the elimination of home delivery in Oakville very gradual.
This new delivery model is called by Canada Post "postal transition" and is outlined online. It indicates when various areas in the country will be affected. Oakville is not mentioned, which is curious. So how long will Oakville residents have home delivery? Not too long I fear. We will soon by an endangered species.