It may be a mild winter across much of the USA, but that’s
not the case for everywhere in Canada. In fact, many of the outdoor community
mailboxes have frozen in the cold weather! While we are used to car locks and car
doors freezing, it’s not so common to have our mailboxes frozen shut.
Some Canadian citizens have resorted to de-icing fluid to
get into their mailboxes, with mixed results. Canada Post has advised residents
to contact them directly, rather than attempting to get into their mailboxes
themselves out of fear of the mailboxes being damaged.
This has been a problem for many citizens who are waiting
for checks, medications, and important documents in the mail. In addition,
letter carriers are also unable to access mailboxes, so even if residents do
get into their mailboxes they will likely be missing some of their mail.
Frozen locks aren’t the only problem Canadian residents have
had to face this winter. Some community mailboxes have been challenging for
citizens to get to at all. This is due to a buildup of snow and ice blocking
some of the mailboxes.
The decision to end door-to-door delivery and replace it
with outdoor community mailboxes was already fairly unpopular across the
country, but this has only made matters worse. Citizens are left asking why
mailboxes weren’t outfitted with better locks, or built under an enclosure.
Others are asking who is responsible for clearing the snow and ice. Some even
complain that making their way to the mailboxes is dangerous because of snowy
and icy conditions.
There have been few reports of similar conditions happening
here in the USA, though of course outdoor community mailboxes are less prevalent
here compared to Canada.
Hopefully temperatures will soon be on the rise and
residents will begin getting back into their mailboxes.
