[HISTORY:[1] Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Amherst 6-4-2018 by L.L. No. 17-2018. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
A mailbox or newspaper delivery box, hereafter referred to as mailbox,
shall not be allowed to exist in the Town's right-of-way if,
in the opinion of the Highway Superintendent, it interferes with the
safety of the traveling public or the function, maintenance, or operation
of the street, road, or highway system.
B.
The location and construction of mailboxes shall conform to the rules
and regulations of the U.S. Postal Service as well as to standards
established in this Chapter.
C.
A mailbox installation that conforms to the criteria in this Chapter
shall be acceptable unless the Town's Highway Superintendent
determines that it interferes with the safety of the traveling public
or the function, maintenance or operation of the street, road or highway
system in which circumstances a right-of-way permit shall be obtained
from the Town's Highway Superintendent. A right-of-way permit
shall not be required in the case of a conforming installation.
D.
Where discretionary action is required by the Town's Highway
Superintendent, application shall be made to the Town's Highway
Superintendent and written permission received prior to installation
of the mailbox.
A.
Access. A mailbox shall not be permitted where access is otherwise
prohibited by New York law or regulations promulgated by the New York
State Department of Motor Vehicles and/or Department of Transportation.
B.
Placement. A mailbox shall be placed on the right-hand side of the
roadway, in the direction of the delivery route, except on one-way
streets where they may be placed on the left-hand side. The bottom
of the mailbox shall be at an elevation between four (4) feet and
four (4) feet four (4) inches above the roadway surface.
C.
Normal Offset. The roadside face of the mailbox shall be offset from
the edge of the traveled way a minimum distance of the greater one
of the following:
D.
Offset on Curbed Streets. The roadside face of the mailbox shall
be set back to a distance of between ten (10) and twelve (12) inches
from the curb face.
E.
Offset on Residential Low-Volume, Low-Speed Roads without Curb or
All-Weather Shoulders. The roadside face of the mailbox shall be offset
between eight (8) and twelve (12) inches behind the edge of pavement.
F.
Offset on Very Low-Volume, Low-Speed Rural Roads. The roadside face
of the mailbox may be offset six (6) feet eight (8) inches from the
traveled way as determined by the Town's Highway Superintendent.
Clearances as low as two (2) feet eight (8) inches may be authorized
by the Highway Superintendent.
G.
Driveway Entrance. Mailboxes at driveway entrances shall be placed
on the far side of the driveway fifteen (15) feet from the far side
of the driveway in the direction of the delivery route.
H.
Intersecting Street or Road. When a mailbox is located at an intersection,
it shall be placed a minimum distance of one hundred (100) feet beyond
the center of the intersecting street in any direction of the delivery
route. When the average daily traffic on the intersecting street exceeds
four hundred (400) vehicles per day, the distance shall be two hundred
(200) feet.
I.
Guardrail. Where a mailbox is to be installed in the vicinity of
an existing guardrail, it shall be placed behind the guardrail unless
application is made and written permission received from the Town's
Highway Superintendent.
The following sizes of mailboxes as authorized by the U.S. Postal
Service are authorized to be installed in the Town:
A.
Nineteen (19) inch length, six and one half (6 1/2) inch width, eight
and one half (8 1/2) inch height;
B.
Twenty-one (21) inch length, eight and three-fourths (8 3/4) inch
width, ten and one half (10 1/2) inch height;
C.
Twenty-three and one-half (23 1/2) inch length, eleven and one half
(11 1/2) inch width, thirteen and one half (13 1/2) inch height.
A.
Materials. Mailboxes shall be of light sheet metal, fiberglass, plastic
or light material construction and conform to the requirements of
the U.S. Postal Service. Newspaper delivery boxes shall be of light
sheet metal or plastic construction and of minimum dimensions suitable
for holding a newspaper.
B.
Support.
(1)
Number of Boxes. No more than two (2) mailboxes shall be mounted
on a support structure unless the support structure and mailbox arrangement
have been shown to be safe by crash testing as conducted by the Federal
Highway Administration or the New York State Department of Transportation.
Lightweight newspaper delivery boxes may be mounted below the mailbox
on the side of the mailbox support.
(2)
Concrete Foundation. Mailbox supports shall be placed in native soil
or in crushed aggregate base materials whenever these materials provide
adequate support. Mailbox supports shall not be placed in concrete
unless necessary for support. Mailbox supports shall not be set in
concrete placed at a depth any greater than twelve (12) inches.
(3)
Posts. A single four (4) inch by four and one half (4 1/2) inch diameter
wooden post or metal post with a strength no greater than a two (2)
inch diameter standard strength steel pipe, and embedded no more than
twenty four (24) inches into the ground shall be acceptable as a mailbox
support. A metal post shall not be fitted with an anchor plate, but
it may have an anti-twist device that extends no greater than ten
(10) inches below the ground surface.
(4)
Attachment. The post-to-mailbox attachment details shall be of sufficient
strength to prevent the mailbox from separating from the post top
if the installation is struck by a vehicle or a snow plow. The minimum
spacing between the centers of support posts shall be three-fourths
(3/4) of the height of the posts above the ground line.
It shall be the responsibility of the postal patron to inform
the Town's Highway Superintendent of any new or existing mailbox
installation where shoulder construction of a Town maintained street
is inadequate to allow all-weather vehicular access to the mailbox.
Any mailbox that is found to violate the intent of this Chapter
shall be declared unacceptable and removed by the postal patron upon
notification by the Town's Highway Superintendent. At the discretion
of the Town's Highway Superintendent, based on an assessment
of hazard to the public, the postal patron shall be granted not less
than twenty-four (24) hours, nor more than thirty (30) days, to remove
an unacceptable mailbox. After the specified removal period has expired,
the unacceptable mailbox shall be removed by the Town at postal patron's
expense.
If a mailbox is not installed according to the requirements
of this Chapter, the Town will not be liable to repair or replace
the mailbox if damaged by a Town owned snowplow.
