Policy Discussion on Mail Box Location in Cul-De-Sacs

Over the past winter staff received a complaint from a resident concerned with the location of his mailbox outside of the cul-de-sac.  His mailbox has been hit 3 times since he was required to move it out of the bulb.  He stated this never happened when his mail box was located near his driveway.   Mailbox location was first discussed at the April 17, 2001 Public Works Committee as part of the winter maintenance wrap up.  A draft resolution to require mailboxes be located outside the cul-de-sac was passed by the Public Works Committee on 7/16/2002 and forwarded to the full council for consideration.  Formal adoption of resolution 02-08-184 was completed on 8/13/2002. A copy of the resolution is attached to the case.  A letter was sent out to residents requesting that they move their mailboxes out of the bulb of the cul-de-sac and relocate them to the straight section of road leading into the cul-de-sac.  This move was to be completed by 11/1/2002 or the mailboxes would be moved by PW staff.  The request to move the mailboxes was two fold.  The first was to increase room in the cul-de-sac for snow storage. Most urban cul-de-sacs contain  fire hydrants, light poles, utility boxes, landscaping and 4-5 driveways, all limiting the space needed for snow storage. The second reason is to insure timely mail delivery.  As the winter drags on snow storage begins to build out into the cul-de-sac making it difficult for the mail truck to follow the radius.  When this happens the mail carrier will leave notice with the residents stating  mail delivery will be halted until the snow is cleared.
  The two most common concerns I hear  from residents against moving the mailboxes out of the cul-de-sacs are mail theft and increased walking distance .   Some people feel, if the mailbox is out of the cul-de-sac, there is a greater chance of mail theft and that could lead to identity theft.  The second concern of increased walking distance is mostly voiced by elderly residents that feel they can't walk the extra distance, because of physical limitations or they are afraid of falling in the winter, because of snow or ice in the cul-de-sac.  I spoke with the Anoka Post office and they supplied the following information about their regulations.  "In areas where postal service has already been established they strongly prefer mailboxes outside the cul-de-sac, but not mandated.  In all areas new to postal service,  mailboxes must be clustered outside of the cul-de-sac and on through streets as well.  The US Postal Service encourages developers to contact them early in the development process, so they can work together to choose proper mailbox locations."  As our mailbox policy is based on a resolution and not ordinance, if someone really wants to leave their mail box in the cul-de-sac, we have no legal recourse to make them move it.  Consequently, if the Council determines that they would like the current policy enforced, adoption of an ordinance should be considered.
 

15 Minutes

N/A

Grant Riemer - PW Superintendent

Inform council on current mail box policy and how it affects PW maintenance operations and make possible changes to the policy based on discussion.