Getting the mail? Get ready to take a walk

Across the country, in new housing developments, the United States Postal Service is changing from door-to-door delivery to centralized delivery.

Posted 10:11 p.m. Jul 31, 2015 — Updated 11:33 p.m. Jul 31, 2015

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — New housing developments are popping all over the place. But there is something missing: Mailboxes in the front yards. Across the country, in new housing developments, the United States Postal Service is changing from door-to-door delivery to centralized delivery.

"It's exactly what it sounds like," said USPS spokeswoman Monica Coachman. "It means that our carriers will be able to go to a centralized point, deliver the mail for that particular subdivision and then move on to the next destination."

The Postal Service says it's a more efficient and cost-effective way to deliver the mail.

"Instead of going to the end of your driveway and checking your mailbox, you will go to a centralized location within a subdivision, meet your neighbors and check your mail," Coachman said.

Homebuilder Greg West knows it's a big change for home buyers, and he foresees a problem in high-turnover communities like those in the Fayetteville area that are home to large numbers of military families.

"We just forsee a nightmare in keeping up with these keys when people move," West said.

The Postal Service made the change to centralized delivery in 2012, but many developers didn't get the word. There are subdivisions The Village at Rockfish in Cumberland County where some houses have mailboxes in their yards and newer homes have central mailboxes located near the community swimming pool.

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