The postal service has a policy to not put letter carriers in harm’s way.
LEWISTON – Snowy sidewalks lead to empty mailboxes.
Lewiston letter carriers skipped addresses this week along East Avenue and Lisbon and Main streets. Those mail boxes were blocked by snow and ice left over from last weekend’s storm, said Acting Postmaster Ted Bell.
Mail delivery resumes once the walks have been cleared, Bell said.
“We are in the business to deliver mail,” Bell said. “That’s our job. But we can’t do it if we can’t get to the house. And taking chances that ends up with someone being hurt. And that costs everybody.”
It’s nothing new. It’s part of a long-standing postal service policy not to put letter carriers in harm’s way.
“It happens in the summer, too, with junk blocking the walk or a contractor working on the roof,” Bell said. “Or people may have their dog tied up between the carrier and the mail box. We don’t expect our carriers to take a chance on being bitten.”
Carriers are being especially cautious this winter, Bell said. A Main Street carrier was hit by a car last winter after a blocked sidewalk forced him to walk in traffic. Bell said it was no surprise that the areas where delivery stopped last week are among the city’s busiest.
“Keep in mind, the cars on these roads can go 40 mph,” Bell said.
Last winter, he said, six carriers were injured badly enough in falls on ice and snow to make them miss work.
“If I have 25 mail routes, now suddenly I’m down by that many carriers,” Bell said. “That’s going to end up costing everyone. Everybody in the city is going to have their mail delayed.”
If carriers skip a house, the postmaster tries to call the resident or stop by.
“Usually, they call us to find out why they didn’t get any mail,” he said, adding that the best way to ensure mail delivery is to keep walks clear.
City ordinances say property owners are responsible for clearing the sidewalks in front of their houses, said Assistant City Administrator Phil Nadeau.
“There are certain sections we try and clean up and remove some of the larger snowbanks,” Nadeau said. “We do what we can under the circumstances.”
Bell said he has taken plenty of phone calls from people who had their mail stopped last week.
“Most have been very supportive,” he said. “They say, ‘My kids have to walk there,’ or, ‘My mother walks on that street.’ And they agree, those areas should be cleared.”
staylor@sunjournal.com
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