Walking outside your house to get the mail at the curb may soon become a thing of the past.

In a memo sent to the Greenville City Council, the US Postmaster reports that developers will no longer be able to choose between curb line and cluster box delivery.

In April 2012, the Postal Service changed this process and USPS now determines the type of delivery that is most efficient for the area.

At roughly $30 billion annually, delivering the mail to 152-million addresses in the US is the largest single fixed cost and to save money, the postmaster is requiring all new developments to build and use cluster box units.

The postmaster also cites these advantages:

• Reduces risk of vandalism.
• Lowers maintenance requirements.
• Reduces unnecessary trips to the post office.
• Reduces neighborhood traffic.

Community Development Department Director Merrill Flood says they were made aware of the changes in late July and are monitoring changes.

The news doesn’t affect anyone who already gets mail at the curb but the city will be alerting engineering and surveying firms of the new requirements.

via USPS changing home delivery methods – Greenville, NC – WNCT.com.