Garner Residents Tell Post Office 'Do Not Deliver' Curbside Only

Garner's post office is now delivering about 36,000 pieces of mail a day. About 20 percent of those deliveries are to homes with mailboxes on the front of the house, instead of on the street. The post office wants to move the mailboxes.

The Garner Postmaster says it saves time and money to deliver curbside. "It's $186 a year for door delivery per house; curbside is $131 a year," says Joan Whitt.

But some people do not want their mailboxes to have a change of address. "I've had my mailbox on my house since '59," says C.C. Jarman. He says moving it is "too much trouble."

After 44 years of getting mail at his door, Hugh Moore put his mailbox on the street, at a cost of $40.

Moore says he had no problem making the change. "It will make it more convenient for the mailman and I don't mind walking to the mailbox to pick up the mail," he says.

Jarman also says the letter from the post office made the move sound mandatory, but it is not.

"I think they made a mistake. They said it was compulsory and it was not compulsory," Jarman says. In fact, the post office can only suggest that people move current mailboxes.

All newly-constructed homes must put mailboxes on the street. And if you sell your home with a mailbox on the front of the house, the new owner will be required to put one on the street.