Canada Post's phasing out of home mail delivery

[rocketphish]

Dewar scolds Canada Post for community mailbox plan

By Alex Robinson
Ottawa East News, Mar 20, 2015

Ottawa Centre MP Paul Dewar is fighting back against a Canada Post program to install community mailboxes.

Facing massive revenue shortfalls, Canada Post plans to install clustered mailboxes for residents across the country, ending door-to-door service by 2019. Dewar called for a moratorium on March 18 to any more being installed, claiming there has not been enough community consultation on the plan.

“It seems like a simple idea to actually ask people, but unfortunately Canada Post did not consult my constituents,” he said outside a home on Normandy Crescent, which has been designated for a community mailbox.

The Ottawa Centre MP conducted his own flyer blitz to reach out to residents to get feedback on the program. Of the 400 responses he received, he said only three were in favour of having community mailboxes.

“We need to consult people, and that hasn’t happened,” Dewar said.

Jon Hamilton, a spokesman for Canada Post, said the crown corporation has conducted extensive consultations in the areas where it has started the process, adding that more than 260,000 residents nationwide have responded to a survey about clustered mailboxes.

Hamilton said the process to install the mailboxes includes a 10-month period of drawing up plans for the city and consulting residents.

“It’s an extensive process,” he said.

In the consultation process, Canada Post may be open to changing the location of a proposed community mailbox and it has done so in 25 per cent of instances so far, Hamilton said.

“We’re consulting extensively through surveys, door knocking and mail,” he said.

Carleton Heights residents Peter and Wendy McClintock, claimed they received no such survey. The couple came home in early March one day to find a rendering of a community mailbox that had been proposed for their property.

“I asked why it couldn’t be put in the community centre, where there is about a three-block radius, great parking and open spaces,” Wendy McClintock said. “They said no. It was set here and that was it.”

The McClintock’s said they are worried the mailbox might bring an increase in traffic around the house, resulting in a loss of privacy. They are also concerned about the value of their property going down.

Some senior residents have expressed concern about being able to reach a community mailbox.

“Somewhere down the road, it’s going to be a lot harder for me to get to a mailbox and I certainly don’t want to be in a situation where I have to move because I can’t get mail anymore,” said Don Stewart, of the Westboro Beach Community Association.

Canada Post said they have a plan in place to help the elderly get their mail, which includes distributing extra keys for caregivers to pick up mail to be delivered once a week.

This did not go far enough for Dewar.

“There is no real plan,” he said. “It’s ad hoc. It’s making things up and at the end of the day, there’s one thing we want from Canada Post –that’s to deliver the mail to people.”

Around 8,000 residents in Kanata were transferred to the community mailbox program last year and Canada Post expects to convert 50,000 residents in Ottawa in 2015. City councils in a number of large municipalities, including Toronto and Montreal, have passed resolutions opposing the installment of community mailboxes. Ottawa’s city council has yet to follow suit.

http://www.ottawacommunitynews.com/n...-mailbox-plan/

[rocketphish]

Community mailboxes will destroy Somerset green space: McKenney

By Emma Jackson
Ottawa West News, Apr 21, 2015

In a ward that features the least amount of green space in the city, Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney wants to show just how much of it would disappear if Canada Post pushes through with its community mailbox plan over the next five years.

The downtown councillor asked staff on April 15 to calculate how much land the city stands to lose from parks, front lawns, street corners and storefronts if the community mailboxes are installed. If McKenney’s own calculations are correct, it could add up to all of Dundonald Park.

On just one block of Arlington Street, for example, there are currently 90 individual mailboxes, McKenney said. At 16 mail slots a piece, Canada Post would need six super mailboxes to replace just one block.

“It’s not doable,” McKenney said. “It just wasn’t thought out.”

According to Canada Post spokesperson Anick Losier, it’s far too early to know what Somerset’s mailbox set-up will look like, because the crown corporation hasn’t even begun to consult on the issue.

“When we start the process, the first thing we do is we meet with the municipalities to discuss the space constraints, to discuss the concerns,” she said. “To speculate at this time about how much space in Somerset would be misleading because it would not be reflective of the reality.”

And anyway, urban areas are being pushed off to closer to 2019 so Canada Post has time to come up with unique solutions.

“We understand that not every neighbourhood is made the same,” Losier said.

Right now Canada Post is busy converting suburban communities to the super mailbox system.

In that process, communities can give feedback on whether they would like to see many small groups of community mailboxes – three or four clumped together, generally on a side or corner lot to serve about 50 customers – or fewer, larger groupings serving up to 200 homes.

Smaller sites mean your mailbox is about one block away, while larger sites could be up to 10 blocks away.

Already more than 10 million homes across Canada have some sort of centralized delivery system, including downtown residents who live in condos or apartments.

But low-rise urban neighbourhoods present “different challenges,” according to the crown corporation’s community mailbox guidebook, including higher density and smaller lots. Losier wouldn’t speculate what the solutions might look like, but McKenney said she doesn’t see how any combination of solutions – be it putting the boxes inside stores or attaching some to the sides of buildings – will change the fact that the community will lose public space.

“My end goal is that this doesn’t happen,” she said. “For me as a councillor, it’s absolutely unconscionable that another level of government would expropriate what little amount of green space we have.”

McKenney’s request to staff also includes what it will cost the city to either install recycling bins near the boxes, or face the inevitable litter from discarded flyers.

Canada Post is legally allowed to put its boxes on municipal easements without having to pay for the land, and it only offers the city a $50 one-time fee per box.

That’s not a lot when you consider the city will have to maintain the area around the boxes and possibly run a recycling program to avoid litter flying everywhere, McKenney said.

Hamilton estimated earlier this year it will cost its city nearly $2 million to maintain the new boxes – and that’s after Canada Post pays the city $50 per box.

“It’s a lot of money,” McKenney said. “It affects the whole city.”

Staff have been asked to report back at council on May 13.

http://www.ottawacommunitynews.com/n...pace-mckenney/

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

Community mailboxes will destroy Somerset green space: McKenney

By Emma Jackson
Ottawa West News, Apr 21, 2015

In a ward that features the least amount of green space in the city

And? So what?

[acottawa]

As a centretown resident I can think of many problems a councillor could focus on. This is not one of them.

[NOWINYOW]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

Dewar scolds Canada Post for community mailbox plan

By Alex Robinson
Ottawa East News, Mar 20, 2015

Ottawa Centre MP Paul Dewar is fighting back against a Canada Post program to install community mailboxes.

.....

http://www.ottawacommunitynews.com/n...-mailbox-plan/

First-World problems, Paul. First-World problems.....

[Mr.Flintstone]

I'm just mad we have the old brown box, I want the new gray ones.

[c_speed3108]

Every argument against community mailbox I have heard is negated by the simple fact that numerous areas have had them since the 80's and the sky did not fall those neighborhoods. Additionally, due to poor design of our 1980's suburbs many of those areas lack things like sidewalks that places in the central part of the city have that makes the stool over to pickup the mail considerably more pleasant.

[MoreTrains]

Originally Posted by Mr.Flintstone

I'm just mad we have the old brown box, I want the new gray ones.

Too true! I want a space age box! My brown box is 25 years old... which coincidentally is how long I have not had home delivery.

[1overcosc]

In urban neighbourhoods, many customers live in apartments and already have their building mail. In Sandy Hill for example, only 25% of the population has door-to-door delivery because of the high percentage of people living in apartments. Not many are affected by this here.

Ottawa's inner city streets are generally fairly spacious. Many are wider than they have to be. Curb bumpouts can fit space for mailboxes. (By contrast, in some older areas, like in old Montreal, old Halifax or even old Kingston, they're gonna have one heck of a time fitting in mailboxes).

[HighwayStar]

I'm in Westboro and just got my placement notice this week... its going in right next to the fire hydrant (in front of a park) a couple of doors down and across the street.

Area must always be kept clear of snow because of the hydrant... its not on anyones property in a densely populated neighbourhood... and very accessible by all.

Works for me... and haven't heard a single complaint from the neighbours so far..

[MoreTrains]

Originally Posted by HighwayStar

I'm in Westboro and just got my placement notice this week... its going in right next to the fire hydrant (in front of a park) a couple of doors down and across the street.

Area must always be kept clear of snow because of the hydrant... its not on anyones property in a densely populated neighbourhood... and very accessible by all.

Works for me... and haven't heard a single complaint from the neighbours so far..

Perhaps complaints from the fire department with Canada Post getting all up in their hydrants?

[c_speed3108]

Originally Posted by HighwayStar

... its going in right next to the fire hydrant (in front of a park) ..

There is a mailmen, dogs and hydrants joke in here somewhere...

[Dado]

I read the relevant parts of the Canada Post Corporation Act and its regulations a few weeks back... basically Canada Post could plunk these things down in the middle of the street if it wanted to.

There'd be some serious street calming potential if Canada Post were so inclined.

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by Dado

I read the relevant parts of the Canada Post Corporation Act and its regulations a few weeks back... basically Canada Post could plunk these things down in the middle of the street if it wanted to.

There'd be some serious street calming potential if Canada Post were so inclined.

If Canada Post was smart they'd build curb bump outs for these mailboxes, in consultation with the city so it's at locations where traffic calming is most optimal.

In Kingston, the city has actually anticipated the loss of at least 10-15 on-street parking spaces to Canada Post, in its parking capacity projections.

[McC]

then at least you could integrate a bench and a recycling bin pretty easily.

[DEWLine]

If we have to put with these measures at all, then setting them up to include benches and recycle bins would be good additions to that plan.

If.

[rocketphish]

Community mailboxes loom as an election issue

Glen McGregor, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: July 1, 2015 | Last Updated: July 1, 2015 6:12 PM EDT

As the unofficial federal election campaign begins, the installation of community mailboxes in urban areas is generating more angry complaints from constituents than any other issue, says Ottawa Centre MP Paul Dewar.

The mailboxes that replace the door-to-door delivery city residents once enjoyed are being placed in two areas of Dewar’s riding: Westboro Beach, north of the Transitway, and in an area off Prince of Wales Drive.

Disputes with Canada Post over the locations of the boxes are the leading complaints, Dewar says.

“I’ve had many constituents ticked off about the lack of consultation,” he said.

“It’s a mess. This has taken over as the key constituency issue, now that the boxes are hitting the streets.”

Dewar said he understands that although the rollout of the mailboxes that began last year is supposed to take five years, he has seen notices from Canada Post that list Oct. 19 as a target date to switch over some neighbourhoods.

That is the same date Canadians are scheduled to next go to the polls to vote in the federal election.

“They’re trying to get as many of these in as possible,” he said.

Dewar said it’s possible Canada Post is trying to get boxes installed before the election because the NDP, were it to form a government, could intervene with the Crown corporation to reverse the phasing out of home delivery.

Canada Post says, however, that the scheduling of any boxes on election day is purely coincidental.

“Any dates that are months out are just for planning purposes,” said spokesman John Hamilton.

“You’ve got five million households across the country, a third of all households, that we’re converting over five years. To get there, you have to convert about a million a year.”

This year, Canada Post is switching 900,000 households in about 90 communities across the country.

Either way, the NDP hopes to make mailboxes a campaign issue that could swing some voters unhappy with the end of door-to-door delivery.

Urban areas, which tend to be held more often by opposition MPs, are expected to be the most affected by the phasing out of door-to-door delivery. The Conservatives, however, tend to draw their political strength from rural or suburban ridings, where delivery is already sparse and community mailboxes are common.

A map on the corporation’s website shows households scheduled for conversion in a large swath of Ottawa, south of the 417, stretching from Kanata to Beacon Hill. Areas in the denser downtown areas north of the highway will be converted later in the process.

Dewar also thinks the numbers used to rationalize Canada Post’s decisions to end home delivery were misleading. The corporation claimed that about two-thirds of Canadians do not have door-to-door delivery of regular mail — those in rural communities and suburban areas.

But Dewar noted the figure includes people who live in apartments or condominium buildings among those who receive their mail from a shared mailbox.

Hamilton said no one living an apartment building would consider their mail service door-to-door, just as a hotel guest who goes to the lobby for a meal wouldn’t call it room service.

The mailboxes have generated opposition in other communities.

The City of Hamilton is appealing a court decision that struck down a local bylaw that, the judge said, thwarted Canada Post’s authority to install the boxes around the city.

“We have to do this secure the future of the postal service,” Hamilton said.

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/nation...election-issue

[rocketphish]

Community mailboxes to be rolled out in southeast Ottawa in 2016

Patrick Smith, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: July 4, 2015 | Last Updated: July 4, 2015 6:53 AM EDT

Canada Post customers in the southeast end of the city will be the next ones to see their door-to-door mail delivery dropped in favour of community mailboxes.

Canada Post informed municipal officials on Friday that community mailboxes will be set up in the near future in the area between Blackburn and the Rideau River, with affected residents receiving communication and a survey from Canada Post. The survey will include space for residents to share mail delivery preferences.

Affected regions will include Blackburn Hamlet, Pineview, Urbandale, Faircrest, Alta Vista, Billings Bridge and an area of Hunt Club between Conroy Road and Hawthorne Road.

According to a press release by Canada Post, a total of 15,676 addresses will be impacted by this change, with the community mailboxes expected to be installed in 2016.

To date, 7,900 Ottawa-area addresses have already been converted to community mailboxes, with another 66,422 planned by the end of 2015.

Canada Post aims to eliminate door-to-door mail delivery in favour of community mailboxes by late 2019.

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-...ottawa-in-2016

[rocketphish]

‘I think I made my point’: Montreal mayor Coderre takes jackhammer to Canada Post community mailbox base

Kalina Laframboise, Postmedia News 08.14.2015

Montreal — An unrepentant Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said he stood up for his city after he took a jackhammer to the concrete base for a community mailbox.

“I think I made my point,” Coderre told reporters Friday. “Everywhere in Canada they know that Montreal stood for (its) people.”

A day earlier, the mayor, wearing a hard hat, put both hands on the jackhammer and drilled through the slab installed by Canada Post in a park in the Montreal neighbourhood of Pierrefonds.

A group of local mayors claimed that Canada Post built the base in Anse-à-l’Orme Park without consultation.

“Whatever the cost is, I am going to send the bill to Canada Post,” Coderre said while television crews filmed the scene.

He called Canada Post “arrogant” and said the installation of mailboxes in green spaces and parks is “totally disgraceful.”

“Not only are they not consulting, but they are doing what they want and it is totally unacceptable,” said Coderre. “They were supposed to negotiate directly with me.”

The federal Crown corporation is gradually phasing out door-to-door mail delivery service across Canada in favour of community mailboxes. In June, the city of Montreal was one of four municipalities to join the Canadian Union of Postal Workers’ lawsuit to attempt to block the implementation of community mailboxes.

On Friday, the mayor defended his actions and said it was a political gesture. He maintains that he has no intention of ripping out other concrete slabs destined for mailboxes — for now.

“I didn’t cross the line that much,” Coderre said.

Not everyone agrees. John Mascarin, a Toronto-based lawyer who specializes in municipal law, said he believes that Coderre was not entitled to remove the concrete slab.

“The federal always, in my view, trumps the provincial or any subservient legislation,” said Mascarin.

Canada Post may “install, erect or relocate” mailboxes in any public place or public roadway under the Mail Receptacles Regulations. The same regulations state that no person can “relocate or remove any receptacle or device” without “prior authorization” by Canada Post.

The regulations do not outline a specific penalty, but Coderre told reporters that he “had done what (he) had done.”

The Montreal’s firefighters union said the mayor’s actions were “unacceptable” and “probably illegal”. The union also noted that Coderre pursued legal action against municipal workers after a protest led by firefighters against Bill 3 quickly devolved into vandalism at Montreal City Hall in August 2014. Six firefighters were subsequently fired.

“Between trashing a city hall and demolishing a concrete slab, I do not think those are the same things,” said Coderre Friday morning.

Borough mayors said Canada Post has long disregarded the concerns of citizens and municipalities that oppose the mailboxes.

In the case of the community mailbox destined for Anse-à-l’Orme Park, Pierrefonds-Roxboro Mayor Dimitrios Jim Beis said the borough was trying to protect the green space and that Canada Post has been “irresponsible” from the beginning.

“It’s time to lift the corporate veil and say no,” said Westmount Mayor Peter Trent at a meeting of local mayors Thursday morning. “Canada Post is owned by us, the citizens. The government represents us.”

Prior to the demolition, Canada Post said it was willing to work with municipalities.

“We are always willing to work with municipalities to find the best locations and discuss any concerns. Our goal is to find sites that are safe, accessible and convenient for the households in each neighbourhood,” the statement said.

Coderre said he has no intention of removing other concrete slabs but wants candidates for the federal election to weigh in on Canada Post’s future.

“I am still awaiting a response from the Liberals and the Conservatives,” said Coderre, a former Liberal cabinet minister.

The Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party have thrown their support behind Coderre. The NDP promised, if it forms the next government, to reinstate home delivery service.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/na...451/story.html

[DEWLine]

So...post-ELXN42, now what?