Mailbox mix-up in Castle Shannon leaves residents scratching heads
CASTLE SHANNON, Pa. (KDKA) — A mailbox mix-up on the border of Castle Shannon and Mt. Lebanon is leaving residents scratching their heads.
"It doesn't promote efficiency as far as I can see and it's dangerous," said Chuck Kenrick, a Mt. Lebanon resident.
It comes after criminals broke into the blue mailboxes along Castle Shannon Boulevard. KDKA-TV's Meghan Schiller learned some are calling the new setup far from safe or convenient.
Residents used to be able to pull off Castle Shannon Boulevard, drive up to the box, drop their mail and drive away. The blue replacement boxes are in the same spot, but there's a sign where the old drop slot used to be, and it reads, "Please park your car and walk mail to the other side of this collection box." The slot on the box is now on the other side.
People told KDKA-TV it used to be drive up, drop and dash. Now it's a confusing parking lot nightmare.
"I have to park my car and walk to the mailbox?" asked one person who pulled up to the box.
"Falls into the classification of dumb and dumber," Kenrick said.
Nancy Kovach calls the new setup "stupid."
"Either park here and have somebody yell at me or park in the parking lot and then walk out rain, snow, sleet, hail, darkness of night," said Kovach, a Castle Shannon resident.
The new boxes follow a theft on April 30. Mt. Lebanon police say someone broke into the old boxes and stole mail, including checks.
"What did they have to use to cut off the top that nobody saw them, nobody heard them?" said Kovach.
Police didn't say how it was done but did say people who think they had mail stolen should reach out to Postal Inspector Justin Checchio at 412-695-8083.
No more big drop box openings on the new boxes, though. You need to think skinny.
"If you have anything fatter than a single letter, it is not going in there," said Kovach.
KDKA-TV's Meghan Schiller reached out to the post office to ask about the slot switch and received this statement:
"The security and sanctity of the mail is a top priority for the Postal Service, which is why we changed the collection boxes recently at this location. The Postal Service has taken extra security measures to prevent theft from blue collection boxes such as hardening the collection boxes and enhancing collection box key and lock technology. We continually balance security with customer service when determining where to place blue collection boxes."
In the meantime, some residents said they already closed bank accounts in fear of identity theft.
