Benoit’s Cove homeowner relieved to hear mailboxes will be removed

The resident of Humber Arm South lives on the main drag through the community. When he first moved there in 1978, there was a small green box from which mail carriers would restock their bags for deliveries to households in the area.
It was on the corner of the intersection right outside his house and not a big deal whatsoever.
Eventually, Canada Post placed one of its so-called super mailboxes, from which residents can retrieve mail themselves, in front of his house.
Over time, it subsequently began adding more and more of these boxes and now there are a dozen of them lined completely across the front of Joyce’s home.
Joyce said he began requesting the boxes be removed four years ago. Not only do they block the view between his home and the road, Joyce said the boxes have posed a safety hazard.
Joyce said his truck and his daughter’s car have been struck while parked in his adjacent driveway by vehicles coming and going to get mail. Snowmobilers, he added, sometimes ride behind the boxes and exit dangerously near his driveway.
The regular snowclearing efforts required for such an area tends to leave a lot of unnecessary snow on his property and he often needs additional snow clearing from his driveway.
On top of all of this, Joyce has heath concerns that require him to take a lot of expensive medications. He can’t rent either of the two apartments in his home because it would raise his income to a level that would result in him losing his drug card benefits.
He would like to sell the house because of this, but said the property value has decreased, along with any interest in it from buyers, because of the long line of mailboxes right outside the front door.
Joyce said Canada Post had previously told him he could have the boxes removed, but either he or the Town of Humber Arm South would have to pay the associated costs.
Recently, one of his neighbours got involved with helping Joyce’s efforts to deal with Canada Post. After contacting local media and writing a letter to his MP, Joyce finally got word from Canada Post Thursday evening that the boxes will be relocated.
“I certainly am glad,” Joyce said. “I have talked to a lot of people about it in the last four years and couldn’t make any headway. This was the first positive reaction I got and I was surprised.”
No one from Canada Post was made available for an interview, but an emailed statement from Canada Post confirmed the boxes will be removed this fall.
The agency said it will identify some potential sites to serve the customers who have been getting their mail at this location since 2004 and will review these locations with the municipality for final placement.
Humber Arm South’s town clerk Marion Evoy confirmed the town had previously been told it would have to foot the bill for relocation when it asked Canada Post about removing the boxes several years ago.
She said someone from Canada Post will be in the community next week to check out possible new locations, but the town will be suggesting the same location it previously had requested about 300 feet further down the road from their current location.