Mailbox move?
Potential change upsets Fort Dodge residentsBy BILL SHEA, Messenger staff writer
Article Photos
Nothing beats the ease of having the mail delivered right to the door.
So when the United States Postal Service floated the idea of doing away with mailboxes mounted on the front of houses in a Fort Dodge neighborhood, residents weren't happy.
''We do not want it,'' said Linda Zehr, who lives on a stretch of 22nd Avenue North where postal officials hinted at switching residents to curbside mailboxes.
According to postal rules, the change can't be made unless the residents agree in writing.
''We're just looking for input,'' said Fort Dodge Postmaster Wendy Berg.
She canceled an interview on the subject and was not available for further comment.
The possibility of a switch to curbside mail delivery emerged in a letter Berg sent to some northern Fort Dodge neighborhoods. The letter went to homes along 22nd Avenue North between 22nd and 29th streets.
In the letter, Berg wrote that the change would make things safer for carriers. Curbside delivery from a vehicle would prevent falls and dog bites, she wrote.
The proposal in the letter called for placing all the curbside mailboxes on one side of the street. Four mailboxes would be placed on each post along the street.
A reply card included with the letter asked residents to indicate their preference on the switch to curbside delivery. It offered two options. The first option stated, ''I have questions about curbside delivery, please have someone call me.''
The second option stated, ''I have no questions or concerns, please start curbside delivery as soon as possible.''
''It revved everybody up,'' Zehr said of the letter.
Some residents of the affected neighborhood have signed a petition opposing the switch in delivery method.
The postal service hasn't taken any further action on a possible delivery change since Berg's letter was sent out.
Contact Bill Shea at (515) 573-2141 or bshea@messengernews.net
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jpfitz1
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08-05-08 12:53 PM
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Well the author of the article has his terminology confused because he definitely says curbside boxes which are the ones at the end of every driveway. Cluster boxes are the ones for the entire street posted on the corner. The postal service would be better allowing curbside boxes rather than cluster boxes. This way the upkeep would be with the customer and not the USPS. Also lock changes and keys are a pain. I was a supervisor for a delivery unit. The prices for the postal service are way better than the others. Check out this website. ****intershipper**** and you can compare the prices. Also note that you may get your mail later becasue its harder for someone to work a little sick when they have to walk from house to house all day in the weather versus driving a truck and not exposed to the weather all day. Therefore this person may be more likely to come to work and be able to deliver his route rather than the other carriers having to split up the territory. This is what ca
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talkin2iam
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08-04-08 3:14 PM
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look again at the unit in the picture, you will notice several little boxes, just like the ones at the post office. They will be on a corner at the end of the block and those accross the street will have to walk accross in good and bad weather to get their mail. Think really long and well about this. They aren't going to spend thousands of dollars for each house to have their own curb side box for the start and stop waste of fuel that would entail. It is just like the mail boxes in the lobby of big apartment complexes, except it will be out in inclement weather with no protection from muggers or cars driving by splashing everything from the street up on who ever is trying to get their mail. Been there done it, and it is a pain. Along with all that, our mail gets later and later, if we want to depend on the postal service we have to purchace a gurantee with certified mail, and if we want it there on time we have to morgage our children to pay for priority rates.
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jpfitz1
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08-04-08 1:17 PM
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What you are describing is NDCBU's (neighborhood delivery/collection box units). From what I get out of this article, they want to install curbside boxes which would be at the end of each driveway.
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talkin2iam
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08-04-08 7:00 AM
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Having lived in a city of several hundred thousand, who rely on curbside mail delivery, let me give you some instances of what to expect. Expect mailboxes being broken into regularly. They cannot be secured. Expect instances of elderly and young kids being harrassed at these boxes, it happens. You have to pay a fee for the keys, if you lose them you pay more to replace them. You have to deal with bad weather so actually more people are put at risk. As with all agencies rather than deal with internal waste and failure, this monster monopoly is cutting more services and continuing to require more funds to do so
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jpfitz1
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07-23-08 8:47 AM
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The laws governing the way the PO is alowed to operate changed recently, therefore we will see some changes in the PO. There are several problems in that organization that have come about because of the old way of doing business and the mentality of "government workers" and the idea of paycheck by birthright. The PO still has better prices than the other guys and they don't charge surcharges for everything like UPS and FEDEX.
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jaybares
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07-22-08 9:07 PM
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Politicians should allow PO to either offer curbside delivery OR every other day delivery. Those grandfathered in under this archaic system of mail delivery would jump on curbside delivery then. Our world needs to change in how it needs to be now VS how it has been in the good ol' days. Let's get more effiecient in our daily living and consumption habits.
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JasonXX
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07-22-08 7:43 PM
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I talked with my mail carrier and he told me that the Postal Service isn't hiring anyone to replace the mail carriers that are retiring soon. I bet that this has something to do with why they are not hiring new blood. I bet they are trying to thin out the crew for several reason. For one, less wages so the payroll is less, along with the medical insurance that the government has to pay for the employees. They might even put some workers into part-time mode.
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jpfitz1
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07-22-08 3:21 PM
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postage stamps will never go down. As long as the cost of delivering mail increases and the amount of mail being mailed decreases, the prices will go up. If projects like this are successful, then it could possibly delay postage prices from going up at a quicker pace.
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jpfitz1
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07-22-08 3:16 PM
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Boxes on houses are dangerous also. You will surely get sued if the mail carrier slips on your icy steps, steps in a hole in your yard, or is bitten by your dog. The cahnces are high that one day one of these will happen because they walk thru your yard 6 days a week. Having a curbside mailbox eliminates all of this plus allows quicker delivery. It takes a lot less time to deliver 600 curbside mailboxes than it does to walk 600 door to door mailboxes.
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kaleidoscope
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07-22-08 12:22 PM
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I am vehemently against this! Tell me, if this 'project' would save money and time and reduce the number of needed postal empoyees, will postage costs go down as a reflection of that savings? NO!
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yougonow
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07-22-08 11:52 AM
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Ahh, but what do you think is going to happen to the carriers when less are needed? Yep, they'll be downsized. Ask the postal carriers how they feel about this...
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Alfred
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07-22-08 9:59 AM
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I can see the postal sevice side to this story, and I lived in a apartment where the mailboxes are on the inside of building so I don't have to worry about this but although its a good idea to do this it is also bad idea in the winter when its icey on sidewalks and snow everywhere and firefly94 idea with the po boxes everywhere well thats also not a good idea because the gas is going upper and upper, people would be lazy to go check there mail boxes lol, driveing to your mailbox is crazy. If residents are more responseable for there pets this wouldn't happen in the frist place people so its all are faults anyways so don't be upset.
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firefly94
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07-22-08 2:21 AM
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I am very much against curbside boxes. They are dangerous--esp.in the winter time for the elderly & handicapped. If the postal people would place more indoor PO boxes around town, that would be much better for both FD residents and our carriers--even with the annual or semi annual rental fee. I've had a rented PO box for many years and really like it. I saw one of our postal ladies on a sidewalk & in a really bad situation with a vicious dog. The dog was snarling & barking viciously and jumping at her. His nose was reaching the top of her head. Hopefully, a safe alternative to door to door delivery will be taken for the good of both the FD residents and our carriers. No matter what is decided, I will very happily keep my rented PO box.
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