Mail delivery in red zone to stop
Bad news being delivered to Christchurch red-zoners will be some of the last landing in their letterboxes.
Yesterday, New Zealand Post confirmed mail delivery to Port Hills and flat-land red zones will stop from August 1 for safety reasons.
Those affected must either get their mail redirected or collect it from the central-city mail centre.
Red-zoners will be notified of the move, ironically, by letter.
New Zealand Post spokesman Michael Tull said the number of occupied homes had dwindled and deteriorating roads were a hazard for workers.
Posties suffered ‘‘a lot of aches and pains’’ from cycling over uneven surfaces for hours at a time, he said.
‘‘Their arms and shoulders really take a hammering, and we have to rotate posties on and off these rounds, as the cumulative effect would be too much if an individual postie did those runs day-in and day-out.’’
Brooklands red-zoner Stephen Bourke, who is staying in his
Their arms and shoulders really take a hammering, and we have to rotate posties on and off these rounds, as the cumulative effect would be too much if an individual postie did those runs day-in and day-out. Michael Tull New Zealand Post
home after declining the Crown compensation offer, said posties would still have to negotiate damaged roads to deliver to green pockets around the red zone.
‘‘My parents next door are green and they’ve got a letterbox,’’ he said.
‘‘Are they going to drive all the way out here and put their mail in theirs and not mine?’’
About 40 Brooklands residents were either staying or had been given permission to remain beyond an August deadline to move out. Overall, more than 300 red-zoned homeowners have been granted such extensions.
Tull said while some red-zoned streets would need to be used, a ‘‘direct route’’ could be taken and side streets cut out.
‘‘We’ve maintained [delivery] for a good, long time and we were doing it because it was the right thing to do, but the reality is now population in the red zone has dwindled and the conditions of delivery are creating a bit of an obstacle course.’’
Canterbury Communities’ Earthquake Recovery Network spokeswoman Leanne Curtis said New Zealand Post should ‘‘get creative’’ and set up community dropoff points or help fund redirections.
‘‘It would be good if they tried to accommodate those people that are still in there in a way that meets their needs as well.
‘‘Driving in to pick up [mail] is not cool,’’ she said.
‘‘It’s just another expense that red-zoners are facing on top of everything else.’’