December 8, 2008 * Transportation and Public Works [to Jan 2010]The temperatures are dropping and winter is rearing its head on Prince Edward Island. There has been some snow, and already there have been mailboxes damaged by the Island’s snow plow fleet. That’s why the Department of Transportation and Public Works would like to remind homeowners that certain precautions should be taken to avoid damage to the machines that clear our roads, and to personal property that could get in the way. “It’s something that happens every year,” says minister of Transportation and Public Works Ron MacKinley. “Many homeowners leave their mailboxes at the end of their driveways, where they’ve been all summer and fall, and they forget that a plow could do serious damage, or they forget that steel bases on mailboxes could do a lot of damage to a plow blade.” The same thing happens with Waste Watch carts left at the end of the lane. All it takes is a heavy snowfall to hide the objects from plow operators. So be kind to your mail boxes and Waste Watch carts, and move them to a safe distance from the right of way if there’s a chance the plow could be coming by. It will save us all money in the long run.Media Contact: Andrew Sprague