Grande Prairie will be one of the next areas being converted from door-to-door mail delivery to community mailboxes. Residents with postal codes starting in T8V, T8X, and T8W will be affected, meaning roughly 7,300 addresses will be switched over in 2016.
Canada Post spokesperson Anick Losier says they’ll be getting an information package over the next couple of days, that will include a survey on their preferences for mail delivery.
“Would you rather have a smaller site closer to home within your neighbourhood or your street? Are you concerned with traffic? Are you concerned with lighting? Are you concerned about safety? So these are all things that we’re going to be then looking at at a very granular and even neighbourhood level.”
The mailboxes will have enhanced security measures and room for more parcels. Anyone with concerns about being able to access a community mailbox will also have a dedicated phone number to call.
“Even if it’s on a temporary basis,” adds Losier. “Say in the winter time I don’t really go out because I’m afraid of falling on the ice; I have a bad knee or whatnot. We have a program that is designed to go and meet your unique needs.”
About 13,000 Grande Prairie residents already use community mailboxes, with another getting delivery to their apartment lobby. Canada Post started converting a third of its customers across the country last year to save costs. It maintains no employees will lose their job in the process, with workforce reduction happening mostly through retirements.