‘We want our mail’: More Calgarians voice concerns about community mailboxes

Residents in an inner-city community are coming forward with their frustrations about mail delivery. They say they didn’t receive their mail for more than a month.

“We hadn’t received mail for about three weeks and then another couple of weeks went by,” said Crescent Heights resident Erin Lillywhite.

“I didn’t think much of it until suddenly we were sort of held hostage by it.”

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Lillywhite said she first noticed an issue back in January when she was waiting for a parcel to be delivered. When it didn’t arrive, she said she called Canada Post to try and track it down.

“It just felt like we were getting the runaround of excuses.”

Neighbour Donna Korchinski said she became so frustrated with the lack of communication she decided to post a video online documenting the community’s complaints.

“I wanted the world to see what we were going through,” Korchinski explained.

“At the time, I was very frustrated, as were many of us.”

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The mailbox near 3 Avenue and 1 Street N.E. is actually located in Rotary Park and is accessed by a gravel trail.

“I feel badly for seniors who have a hard time navigating the snow and the ice, that makes it difficult for them,” Korchinski said.

“Are they really thinking about where these mailboxes need to be and what works best for the community?” Lillywhite asked.

“They chose this location and it’s a bizarre one.”

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Lillywhite said when she called Canada Post she was told she would need to pick up her mail from a location near Sunridge Mall in the city’s northeast.

Then, she said suddenly on Tuesday, they started to have mail delivered to the community mailbox once again.

“The city wasn’t being held accountable, Canada Post wasn’t being held accountable. It was frustrating.”

Korchinski said she’s trying to remain positive and is focused on having the issue permanently resolved.

“It’s easy to say, ‘Oh, these horrible people at Canada Post.’ They’re not,” she said.

“If something good can come out of it, I think the good part is that we need to communicate.”

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In a statement to Global News, Canada Post confirmed service was temporarily suspended to the mailbox due to “safety issues.”

“Customers were notified at the time and advised to temporarily pick up their mail at the Canada Post facility at 2777 Sunridge Blvd NE,” said Nicole Lecompte with Canada Post media relations.

“Delivery to the community mailbox resumed on March 3.

“We continuously monitor conditions at all of our community mailbox locations to ensure safe delivery and collection of mail.”