What Des Moines Public Works Director Bill Stowe calls "edifice mailboxes similar to a 2,000-pound stone sitting 6 inches away from the curb" have resulted in more than one serious injury accident a month for the past five years, as well as several fatalities.
After a snowplow crashed into a custom-built mailbox last Valentine's Day, the city decided to incorporate new guidelines requiring the installation of U.S. Post Office-approved breakaway mailboxes. The ordinance, which took effect in July and will be enforced on an accident-report and complaints-only basis, mandates that mailboxes have a wooden support post no larger than 4 inches square, or a metal post having the strength no greater than a standard, 2-inch-diameter steel pipe.
Residents who already have custom-built mailboxes will be allowed to keep them, but they cannot be replaced or rebuilt.
