Two weeks ago it was announced that in early 2016 Thompson would be losing door-to-door mail delivery, and residents will have to get mail at a community mailbox.
The newer areas of Thompson like Robinson Drive, Despins Road, and Campbell Drive already have the mailboxes, and some residents don’t seem to mind them.
Michelle Bruneau lives on Robinson Way and has been using the community mailbox since she arrived five years ago. Bruneau is legally blind, but that doesn’t stop her from getting the mail. “When my husband is away I can still walk to the mailbox. It’s not that far, maybe half a block from my house. It’s very easy and very accessible.”
The mailboxes are always tidy, and shovelled in the winter and Bruneau says another nice feature of the boxes is that if her family goes on holiday, her mail is kept safe and secure. “If I have a parcel I don’t have to go pick it up at the post office. They put the key in my box, and the parcel is in the bigger box, so there’s no hassle that way. We went away on vacation for two weeks at a time, and my box has never been overflowed.”
Living in a rural town all her life, Bruneau says she never had the chance to experience door-to-door service and, to her, a community mail box is a luxury instead of travelling to a post office to get mail.
Bruneau understands that it might be harder for people in wheelchairs to travel to the mailbox in the wintertime, and realizes people might lose their jobs, which doesn’t make her happy, but she understands the change.
The only hope Bruneau has is that all mailboxes are put in safe and secure areas, and they don’t become an eyesore.
Amelia Pope, a Thompson resident, who will soon be moving to Robinson Way, and using the community mailbox, says she’s she doesn’t mind having to use one. Pope used one previously. “Having mail delivered does make things easier but it’s not hard to swing by on your way home from work or get up to stretch your legs and check your mail. It used to be my daily chore when I was younger and it reminded me to walk my dog.”
Pope also understands that it will be harder for people with disabilities, but she feels more comfortable not having an open mailbox, and a key to her cubby that no one else has.
Canada Post announced to affected employees as well as municipal officials on July 20 that phasing out of home delivery to 3,394 Thompson residents would begin in 2016.
