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Old 04-27-2008, 06:47 PM
 
Location: Fort Worth, TX
368 posts, read 1,784,951 times
Reputation: 165

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Quote:
Originally Posted by llkltk View Post
I prefer the kiosk. It's more secure.
It's not more secure than having a mail slot in your door....

Ah, the 'good ol' days'....
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Old 04-27-2008, 07:23 PM
 
Location: Avery Ranch, Austin, TX
8,977 posts, read 17,542,882 times
Reputation: 4001
OK, let's take it further...why not retrofit older neighborhoods if the kiosks are so safe? Shouldn't be too tough to find a corner that would fit the bill. Does anyone here live in a neighborhood where this was done?

I can see the problem with a dozen or more boxes being hit at one time since they are grouped together. I wonder if the developer or HOA would have any input re:the 'style' of postal delivery in a new development. What about the poor folks who design and fab curbside boxes...oh, well, another lost art. On the other hand, I guess we should be thankful that the current crop of 'copper thieves' don't realize our rather large curbside box is actually made of copper! It could end up just like so many stolen a/c units.
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Old 04-27-2008, 08:39 PM
 
Location: NW Austin
1,133 posts, read 4,185,599 times
Reputation: 174
I like having a mailman. I lost my keys in the driveway and he found them for me. They also know what's going on in the neighborhood. You don't get that with a kiosk.

Austin is the first place I've seen that has the kiosks. My friend lives out in Hays County and has one. I thought it was pretty strange to be out in the country and have something I'd only seen previously at apt complexes.
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Old 04-28-2008, 06:46 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
15,268 posts, read 35,619,033 times
Reputation: 8614
I was told by a mailman that frequented my bar () that the post office was not installing individual mailboxes anymore for new developments. Now, I don't know if this applied only to Austin, or big cities, or whatever, I didn't ask (or don't remember, anyway). The cost of delivering to a 'kiosk' is enormously cheaper and also has some security advantages. Anyway, it is apparently not a developer choice, it is a USPS requirement.

They USPS is apparently going to deliver to houses in perpetuity, though, if they already have a mail box/mail slot.
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Old 04-28-2008, 08:15 AM
 
2,957 posts, read 7,381,943 times
Reputation: 1958
One of the things I really like about my old house is that it has an individual mailbox at the end of the driveway - just like I had growing up.

I can see why they are a good idea, but I don't like the locked kiosk thing at all. Picking up an armful of junk mail is already a hassle. It's even worse when you have to walk half a block to your box and then unwedge your stack of junk mail from its metal confines - then walk back home without littering you neighborhood with coupons.
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Old 04-28-2008, 09:08 AM
 
10,130 posts, read 19,872,387 times
Reputation: 5815
I must admit, it's pretty nice to have everything delivered right to your door. In NW Hills we had that, mailbox or mail slot right at the door. Now we have the mailbox at the end of the driveway thing, which is still nice.

I guess if people all built houses individually (ie build-on-your-lot), then there would still be individual mailboxes? Although the developers don't choose the new kiosk method, it wouldn't be possible without their building method.
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Old 04-28-2008, 09:26 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
15,268 posts, read 35,619,033 times
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We have some friends that live off 1826 (Madrone Mtn way, or something like that) and the lots are all around one to 3 acres, and I think the lots were bought from one 'developer', but the houses were built by the individual. That neighborhood also has a postal delivery 'kiosk' out by 1826, so I am not sure how the USPS decides how all that works.
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Old 04-28-2008, 07:18 PM
 
Location: Fort Worth, TX
368 posts, read 1,784,951 times
Reputation: 165
Yeah, it must be up to the regional PO director, or someone like that, as we were in Elliot Ranches, today, and each house has a separate box...similar to what Trainwreck20 found, 1-3 acre sites, every house individually constructed, and very different from each other. It wasn't an old area by any stretch, either. I'd say max, five years old, as there are still plenty of empty lots and places still being built.
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Old 04-28-2008, 07:27 PM
 
2,238 posts, read 9,014,187 times
Reputation: 954
Quote:
Originally Posted by 10scoachrick View Post
OK, let's take it further...why not retrofit older neighborhoods if the kiosks are so safe? Shouldn't be too tough to find a corner that would fit the bill. Does anyone here live in a neighborhood where this was done?
My neighborhood may fit the bill...it was built in the 80s, we're unincorporated in Hays Co and we have the kiosks. I'm not sure if they were originally there or not. If so, it had to be cutting edge at the time.
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