Image from Canada Post
Hello CRD Neighbours and Placemakers!
Have you heard about the changes Canada Post is making regarding door-to-door mail delivery services? The Crown corporation plans to eliminate all household delivery as part of larger restructuring efforts to save money and stay financially viable. Canada Post is beginning to take the initial steps of a plan that includes transitioning to community mailboxes, eventually ending home delivery mail service. Currently, about four million addresses have mail delivered to the door, it is estimated that it will take about 9 years to eliminate most door-to-door service.
Earlier this year Canada Post announced 136,000 addresses will no longer receive door-to-door delivery, and instead get their mail through community mailboxes. The first wave of change is hitting later this year, affecting 13 communities – mostly concentrated in BC and Ontario (From a CBC news article).
The Placemaking Network is wondering how this change can be harnessed for good. Can it be about more than just cost savings and utility? Can it consider people, neighbourhoods and our human need for community?
We think Placemaking can contribute in a beautiful way to create Pocket Places of connection at these new community mailboxes. In addition to safety and accessibility, we want Placemaking to be part of the Nation’s conversation ahead of creating community mailbox hubs and completely eliminating door to door service.
Our organization works to bring people closer together across the Capital Region through Placemaking initiatives, and we need your help with a cool new project we’ve been working on.
All you have to do is keep your eyes open and help the GVPN map our Community Mailboxes!
As Canada Post changes from door-to-door mail delivery to community mailboxes (coming soon!), we see a real opportunity to turn boring metal mailboxes into mini neighbourhood hubs with amenities like a bench for chatting, a built-in checkerboard, a bulletin board, or even a Little Free Library.
Can a Mailbox Bring a Neighbourhood Together?
We think so! To test this out, we first need to map where these outdoor community mailboxes are already located in our region. Help GVPN Map Our Community Mailboxes!
How can you help?
* Spot a community mailbox: Keep an eye out near home, work, school, or as you travel in the region.
* Send the location: Tell us the closest street address or cross streets, and the municipality.
* Snap a pic: Grab a quick photo if you can do so safely. Not essential.
You can send your findings directly to us – email at info@victoriaplacemaking.ca or press ‘Contact Us’ on our website. At the same link you can sign up for our Newsletter(s), become a member and donate to our non-profit society to support this and other endeavours. Be in touch if you’re curious to know more about this project. We’d love to hear from you if you have skills and time to contribute to this impactful initiative that could shape our neighbourhoods in the best way!
Thanks for making our neighbourhoods even better places to live!
— Jim & the Greater Victoria Placemaking Network (GVPN)
