For four months, a smashed community mail box was been left on the ground along Highway 11 near Red Deer.
A new replacement box has yet to be installed, despite requests.
“It’s not the end of the world by any means, but it’s a nuisance. Anytime you want the mail, you have to drive a half an hour round trip,” said Randy Parker, who has to drive to the Canada Post depot on 67th A Street near Taylor Drive.
“If that was anywhere in town, if that was knocked over or damaged, they wouldn’t let it sit there for four months,” he said Thursday.
Parker said in early January, the community box just east of Parkland Nurseries & Garden Centre was hit, likely by a vehicle, and torn from its cement base. Four households in the area use the community box that was situated next to five other community boxes.
Parker said in February, he was told a new box was on order. In April, he was told Canada Post uses contractors to fix boxes, so it was the contractor’s responsibility.
“If I had a window broken in my home and I hired a contractor to fix it, and three months later, it wasn’t fixed, I’d be looking for a different contractor. It’s still ultimately Canada Post’s responsibility, whether it’s a contractor that fixes it or them.”
Parker questioned how difficult it was to get a new box.
“They get damaged and broken into all the time.”
He said about a week ago, someone put up a sign that pointed at the damaged box saying, “If Trudeau’s weed came to this box, it would be fixed.”
The sign has since been removed.
Parker said people who regularly drive down the highway have also noticed how long it is taking to replace the box.
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Canada Post was contacted for a response and said Thursday afternoon that the damaged box had been removed and will be replaced by the end of the week. The company said the goal is to resume normal mail delivery Monday.
“We apologize for this incident, and we thank our customers for their patience during this time,” Canada Post’s Hayley Magermans wrote in an email.
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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