Some Towns Have Policies on Mailboxes Damaged by Plows

Residents don’t tend to think about the importance of our mailbox until they don’t have one.

Whether it’s the casting snow, the snow plow’s blade or the truck itself knocking mailboxes over, many towns have policies for dealing with this minor headache.

"Until last night, it was literally swinging in the breeze," Roz Loudon said. 

Messed up and mangled mailboxes line snowy streets all over Connecticut.

"We’ve been victim of a snowstorm and some plowing that tends to knock them down on occasion and it’s happened in years past. And we had to do a little repair on our own," Joe Aitro of Cheshire told NBC Connecticut.

For some, it’s just part of surviving a New England winter.

"It happens frequently enough we find it funny. There’s a humorous side to it," Loudon said.

Aitro said he knows of at least three other mailboxes that are down. 

"It’s seen better days, yes. This is probably the third year in a row, and every year we say we’re going to replace it. And we haven’t replaced it," Kristin Lemke of Glastonbury told NBC Connecticut.

Glastonbury Town Manager Richard Johnson told the NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters they had 18 damaged mailbox complaints after last Thursday’s blizzard.

"One time I contacted the city, but they didn’t really do anything," Lemke added.

But Johnson advises residents to contact the Department of Public Works (DPW) because if a mailbox is hit by a plow, the town will replace it with a standard post and box or repair it.

"It’s not the first time. I tend to get hit on a fairly regular basis," Loudon added.

The policy in Cheshire is similar to Glastonbury. 

Loudon was one of 15 to make a mailbox complaint to DPW within the mandated 48 hours after the plows stop.

DPW crews delivered a denial letter on Monday.

"They gave me the form and said the box had been improperly installed, so it was too close and that the snow load took down the mailbox," Loudon said. 

But Loudon had questions for the town.

"I called them today and said, 'Would you please check my records?' Which they did and they said you’re right, you got hit back in 2015 and we installed the mailbox," Loudon stated.

Cheshire town officials made good on the mistake and will fix her box in the spring when the ground thaws.

Since implementing a new policy in December 2014, Cheshire has had 399 mailbox complaints.

But so far – no complaints from this resident – he built himself a wooden shield.

Besides obvious dings and dents where a plow hit, DPW can measure the height of the plow in relation to where the damage is on a mailbox.

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