People in Sturgis moving their mailboxes?

STURGIS (Newschannel 3) - Your door-to-door mail carrier could soon become a profession of the past.

Most older homes were built with the mailbox in the door or on the house, and every day, the mail carrier walks up onto the front step.

But with newer homes, most mailboxes sit at the curb, allowing the mail carrier to deliver the mail without getting out of the vehicle.

In Sturgis, the local post office is asking 350 of it's customers to consider moving their mailboxes to the curb, but are finding a lot of people aren't eager to part with their handily-located mailboxes.

Mail carrier Sherry Hansman says she puts in about twelve miles a day walking her mail route, and some homes on her trek have wide lots, making it a long walk between boxes.

"I'd say an acre between each home," she said.

Sturgis Post Office Supervisor Tom Picker says for that reason, the post office is requesting residents to move their mailboxes to a more convenient location.

"It cost's less, even with the rising gas costs, less to deliver on a mounted area then door-to-door, obviously because of time savings," he said.

Postal officials say it costs about 91 cents a day to deliver mail to a house, but curbside, the cost is cut to just 51 cents. And that amounts to a savings of about $90 a year per house.

In addition, the post office says that it's not just about money, but the safety of carriers, especially in the winter where there are no sidewalks.

"A lot of times (the carrier) walks down the drive into the street, back up the next drive," said Picker.

Currently, the post office can only require people to put boxes at the curb on new construction, or if a home changes owners.