Built Up Snow Blocking the Mail? Get in the Car or Grab a Shovel

Following a , and the subsequent plowing which has pushed an immense amount of snow to the sides of the road, three- to five-foot rows of snow routinely sit in between roadways and many residents' mailboxes all around town. 

The result? No mail. At least, not delivered to your home. 

So how do you get your mail?

Two options: wait for the snow to melt and take a daily drive to the post office, or get a shovel and clear a path for the United States Postal Service.

Mail carriers bring residents' built-up mail on their routes daily - in case a path has been cleared for them - and as a result residents can't pick up their mail until after 4:00 in the afternoon, when the mail carriers return from their routes. Either that or they can flag down the mail carrier when he or she passes by. 

According to Krista Riemma, spokeswoman for the USPS, Riverhead letter carriers, on an average route, deliver mail to about 500 addresses per day, six days a week. The Riverhead Post Office is responsible for 23 routes and over 13,000 deliveries.

Riverhead Postmaster Kevin Goree just asks that if an attempt is made to clear the snow surrounding a mailbox, that it be done safely enough to allow proper delivery - without forcing the carrier to back up his or her vehicle.

“Homeowners are responsible for the safety of all visitors to the home, including letter carriers,” Goree said. "For mailboxes at the curb, snow and ice must be removed to keep the approach to and exit from their mailbox. This will permit the carrier to drive up to the mailbox and deposit or collect mail without leaving the vehicle. Letter Carriers are not permitted to back up after delivery."

Riemma also offered the following tips for mail courtesy, which, she added, "never go out of season."

• Customers must remove obstructions around a mailbox. If you have a mailbox at the road, keep it clear of packed snow. Clearing the mailbox allows your letter carrier to deliver mail safely and without delay.
• Carriers are not required to deliver to locations where safety issues -- such as icy steps, snow-packed paths or icy overhangs -- create perilous conditions. That’s why we encourage customers to consider the best location for that mailbox, which may mean moving a box down from a porch.
• Painted porches and steps are particularly hazardous. While salting or rubber-backed mats help make them less slippery, we rely on our customers to clear the snow before a letter carrier arrives with the mail.
• A mailbox should display the street name and house number on the side of a single mailbox or on the doors of grouped mailboxes visible to the approaching carrier. Add a reflector and house numbers for visibility by your letter carrier, plows, emergency vehicles and others.
• Watch for letter carriers on foot and slow moving postal vehicles. Leave a light on to help illuminate potential hazards on the way to your mailbox.