Patience is key when weathering the storm of the excess snowfall in north Simcoe this season, and that should also extend toward the postal service trying to get mail for frustrated residents.
A Penetanguishene resident contacted MidlandToday to place inquiries about difficult access to mailboxes on Water Street, including a question on why Canada Post wouldn’t respond to phone calls about the matter.
Valérie Chartrand, media relations for Canada Post, replied via email that the company had been responsible for maintenance of community mailbox sites for nearly 40 years, a role taken very seriously.
“We clear the area in front of the mailbox and, should a snow plow pass by afterwards, we will send a crew to clear the site again,” stated Chartrand.
“Due to the inclement weather and snow, a number of delivery service alerts have been issued for Ontario this winter season,” wrote Chartrand. “A red service alert means that we are suspending delivery for the day and not sending our delivery agents out or recalling them. There is also no regular collection during red alerts.”
An updated list of red alert and yellow alert mail delivery interruptions can be found on the customer support dashboard of the Canada Post website.
Chartrand added, “Our delivery services team is aware of some community mailbox sites requiring clearing now that the street or sidewalk plows have been out. We are dispatching contractors and expect them to clear as many sites as they can reach. We thank customers for their patience and understanding as we work to clear the snow in front of community mailboxes.”
Regarding Penetanguishene snow plows unintentionally obstructing residents as they continue efforts to maintain safe streets, CAO Jeff Lees told MidlandToday that the public works department were following a tiered-priority approach of critical, primary, and secondary areas to clear substantial snow this winter, as per the town’s level of service policy.
“We encourage residents to visit our website for more information (at): Winter Maintenance - Town of Penetanguishene. If residents have any additional questions or concerns, please contact our public works department by calling 705-549-7992.”
As per the MidlandToday reader on Water Street, Chartrand noted that case-by-case provisions can be requested through the Canada Post delivery accommodation program, via website or by calling 1-8444-454-3009, for those in need to retrieve their mail and parcels.
“More generally,” wrote Chartrand, “should residents have issues with their community mailbox, we encourage them to visit our community mailboxes webpage, (or call) 1-866-607-6301 (TTY: 1-800-267-2797).”