SCHERERVILLE | Postal officials say a request by the local postmaster for residents to move their mailboxes to the curb is an appeal, not a requirement.

The Schererville acting postmaster sent a letter dated March 17 to postal customers, asking they relocate their mailboxes to the curb. Curbside delivery is more cost effective and the delivery schedules are more consistent, according to the letter.

The letter prompted some Schererville residents who had mailboxes on their home to install mailboxes in the ground at their curb instead.

Tom Bakken will not be among them.

Bakken, a retired postal worker, said he's had foot delivery at his Schererville home for years.

"I see this not as a benefit to the customer, it's strictly the post office trying to hold down their cost," he said. "I can't blame them."

The post office can save money by saving time delivering mail, he said.

Postal officials say it's a safety issue.

Unrestrained dogs and uncleared sidewalks pose safety hazards to the people delivering the mail, said U. S. Postal Service spokeswoman Susan Pfeifer.

"We're asking the public to help keep our carriers safe," she said.

Bakken said he doesn't understand how, after so many years, there suddenly is a safety issue.

Once mail has been delivered a certain way for 30 days, it is then an established method, he said.

Pfeifer said the USPS is encouraging customers to move their mailboxes to the curb, but it is not requiring them to comply.

"It's more of a request," Pfeifer said.

Bakken said the letter confused some of his neighbors, who then turned to him for answers.

"The way they read the letter, they thought it said it was mandatory, that they had three weeks to do it," Bakken said.

The letter includes a diagram of how the mailbox should be installed so the carrier can access it without getting out of the vehicle.

Bakken added that the mailbox needs to be on the right side of the entrance to the home's driveway.