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Community mailboxes heading for Highlands

Info meeting coming March 2 for feedback John French Like it or not, residents in the Garibaldi Highlands will be changing their addresses this year.

Info meeting coming March 2 for feedback

John French

Like it or not, residents in the Garibaldi Highlands will be changing their addresses this year.

Faster-than-expected growth in Squamish is forcing Canada Post to make changes to mail delivery, including an urban coding system and implementing community mailboxes in the Highlands this year.

An information meeting to explain the changes is set for Wednesday, March 2 at 7 p.m. in the Sea to Sky Hotel to reveal details of the postal plans and to accept feedback from residents.

Bob Taylor, communications manager with Canada Post, told The Chief the technical details of the proposed changes will be explained at the meeting. He was reluctant to talk about how the new postal codes will work because the delivery services department does the best job of explaining those details.

Taylor said the details will be revealed at the information meeting and maps will be used to help illustrate how people will be impacted.

This new proposal is a step ahead of the proposal brought forward five years ago and rejected by local residents, Taylor said, because since then Squamish grew faster than Canada Post expected. According to Taylor, growth in the community is forcing them to make changes.

The proposed switch to what Canada Post calls an urban postal code system for Squamish will be brought in over two or three phases, Taylor said. The change means mailing addresses will be the same as street addresses and post office boxes will no longer appear in residential mailing addresses.

While the Squamish office will become the urban coding centre, residents of Brackendale and Garibaldi Highlands can continue to use those subdivision names in their mailing address.

Major mailers, like B.C. Hydro, will address all local mail as being in Squamish, said Taylor.

"We want to reinforce the fact that people are not going to lose their identity as far as where they live," said Taylor. "Aunt Martha can address the birthday card with Brackendale."

According to Taylor, the plan at this point is to start installing community mailboxes in the Garibaldi Highlands area where road allowances exist for the boxes. Those living close to the existing Garibaldi Highlands post office will continue to collect their mail at the office, but Taylor said the distance is yet to be determined.

Surplus postal boxes will be made available for rent to those who want to have a post box in addition to their free point of delivery.

Taylor said at this time there are no plans to put community mailboxes in Brackendale, Valleycliffe or downtown.

"We wonít be doing much at Brackendale because it is pretty self-contained," he said.

The information meeting will be used by Canada Post to get feedback from residents on the proposed changes.

CPC staff meetings were held in the three Squamish area offices on Feb. 10 to outline the future plans. Union spokespeople with the two separate postal unions in Squamish were reluctant to speak about particulars because they were both working with limited information. Despite that, neither endorsed the community mailbox concept for Squamish.

As of Tuesday, the union representative who speaks for the workers at the Garibaldi Highlands post office was out the loop on the proposed changes.

Sonja Lemay of the Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association (CPAA) said she was aware of the staff meeting on Feb. 10 and she asked for information from Canada Post on what was discussed in the meeting but as of Tuesday she did not have an update.

Brad Bertrand of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers told The Chief his union is continuing to push for door-to-door carrier service in Squamish. He pointed out a number of communities much smaller than Squamish have door-to-door service.

"We feel it is a better and more secure system for delivery of mail," Bertrand said.

According to Bertrand, community mailboxes bring litter issues to neighbourhoods and added security is a concern.

Taylor said the CPC is anticipating the community will accept the changes on the way because Squamishís growth is forcing change.

"We basically said weíve got to come to grips with growth because it is happening in that part of the world," Taylor said."I only see positive things coming out of it."

Once the changes are put in place, local residents will receive a year of free redirect service.

Taylor said the one year window will give residents a chance to notify everyone of their mailing address change and it will also allow those with pre-printed letterheads to use their old stock.

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