Canada Post mailbox aims to curb graffiti
Canada Post mailboxes have gotten a makeover and the new look may be coming to a Calgary street near you.
The national mail carrier is replacing all of the red letter drops with boxes patterned with Canadian postal codes. The change has already been made in Vancouver and Toronto — and it’s not all about curb appeal.
“The design is busier and this helps to discourage graffiti,” said Teresa Williams, Canada Post spokeswoman. “Most graffiti artists like a plain and featureless surface to do their work.”
Const. Dave Ladic of the Calgary Police Service graffiti vandalism unit said he’s heard the colourful boxes have worked in reducing street art in Saanich, B.C. He added the new letter drops will hopefully make an impact in Calgary.
“Graffiti culture is all about getting up — they are going to tag (their names) as much as they can in public. It’s all about ego and this takes away their clean slate.”
Ladic said graffiti causes damage to someone else’s property and is therefore vandalism. Plus, there’s a social cost to it. “The perceptions when people see graffiti in a community is that place is unsafe and gangs are moving in and the community is not cared for,” he said.
Along with the updated pattern, a special type of coating is helping with graffiti removal. The Crown corporation spokeswoman said it’s a Teflon-like finish and makes washing paint off easier.
There’s also been some interior upgrading. Williams said postal workers no longer have to scoop out mail, but simply exchange full containers with empty ones.
“The boxes will start appearing on the street in September,” noted Williams. “It’ll take a while to exchange them all, but by early January 2011 we should have all the new boxes.”
Williams said the new boxes are made in Canada, but didn’t know how much it’ll cost to switch from the older boxes to the updated version.
People are still using “snail mail” in the age of e-mail and mobile phone texting, she added.
“We are seeing our mail volumes dropping . . . There are fewer letters, but as more and more people go online, they’re doing more and more shopping online and Canada Post is a main carrier of those purchases.”
lstorry@theherald.canwest.com
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"Yes, let's take advantage of every opportunity we can to drag graffiti through the mud."
–Closed-Minded Loudmouths
Jesus, what makes these people experts on anything? Who are they to tell me what "graffiti culture is all about"? They don't speak for anyone!
Oh, I think the parasites who tag every piece of property they can (except perhaps that owned by their parents) have already done a good job of dragging graffiti through the mud. If I had my way, any human parasite caught with a spray can would have his hands amputated with a blowtorch.
Relax, nobody's going to come paint on your precious white picket fence.
Stop acting like you're the victim here. You are not, us graffiti writers don't write on personal property of citizens. A graffiti code was formed by the people who created it and there are many that stick to it. No houses, vehicles, grave yards, churches, small businesses any personal property of a citizen. Graffiti is all about screwing with the cities business. So city property is where graffiti should stay.
Amen to that right there if only people understood that they wouldn't be so close minded and the people who don't follow the rules are looked down upon by the people they are trying to become.
howdy this is a wonderful web logs, would you think about being a guest author on my blog?
well if you had your way, the world would be a joyless fascist totalitarian gulag, I'm sure there's an infraction they could drag you in for, comrade.
People who make such sweeping statements as yours should be executed on site.
Just slap a big ass sticker on that and then see what they say
Uhm, how about a nice drippy black mop on that mailbox? Ever think of that one? Whoops!
A little white spraypaint should solve this problem haha. Then you can paint whatever you want.