Where'd da mailbox go??? (Austin, Atlanta: apartment, condo, houses)

[10scoachrick]

I'll admit to being old enough to remember when the mail(man) actually delivered the mail to the mailbox attached to your house. Then, roadside boxes became the norm in suburbs much as they were in more rural areas. I must have missed the switch to mail 'kiosks' (outside of apartment and condo complexes). Our new master planned community has these kiosks and I wonder when this idea came about(community is about 5 years in the making).

Is this the norm in Austin...not sure I've seen so much of this in Atlanta burbs. Makes sense from a petrol conservation standpoint but was this the main impetus for the change...speed of delivery, security, laziness???

[jwb123]

When stealing mail and identities became a serious problem, the mail kiosks were the solution. In addition to it just being a natural evolution and time saving management tool. More homes, more people, bigger neighborhoods - it costs the post office a lot less to have one person serve a neighborhood with kiosks then having to go door to door, and have several people serving a neighborhood.

I don't remember having an actual mailbox since I was in highschool.

[Huckleberry3911948]

mail robbery...............cause & effect

[TexasHorseLady]

I have an actual mailbox now. But I live in the country. But, come to think of it, our house in Austin and all of the neighboring houses have actual mailboxes at the street (to me, THAT's an actual mailbox, because I'm old enough to remember when most of them were that way and only some communities had the fancy ones on the house itself).

I think the kiosks are more of a new subdivision thing. I think it's too bad, the passing of an icon, the mailman actually delivering the mail to your door, not your general vicinity.

[Mckellyb]

These are becoming de-riguer in new neighborhoods, which is unfortunate, as if need be, I can secure a mailbox against all but power tools.

When we lived in Oregon, there was a rash of these new community boxes being ripped off, so instead of a couple of people here and there, we're talking 20-30 at a shot. Lovely.

[HappyTexan]

I have my own mailbox up the driveway but I'm outside the city limits.
There's just too many people for individual mailboxes anymore. We'd be charged $5.00 per stamp to cover more delivery persons.

[jwb123]

Prior to where I live now, in the Seattle area, I lived in a neighborhood that was 20+ years old - and they had mailbox kiosks, rather than actual individual mailboxes - so it's not a "new subdivision" thing.

[TexasHorseLady]

Depends on what you call "new".

[Mckellyb]

Originally Posted by Jenbar

Prior to where I live now, in the Seattle area, I lived in a neighborhood that was 20+ years old - and they had mailbox kiosks, rather than actual individual mailboxes - so it's not a "new subdivision" thing.

They can be added at any time, so it may be it was new to that particular neighborhood...unless they were around 20 years ago....

[llkltk]

I prefer the kiosk. It's more secure.