Parcel lockers are sorely underutilised in Canberra despite being commonplace in bigger cities and overseas. Photo: Mike Shots.
It was fairly common to see building foyers filled with parcels during the stress-fraught days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the behaviour rose out of a need to stay safe through social distancing and was difficult to police, especially with everything else going on, most residents simply dealt with it.
But according to Chris Miller, president of the ACT’s Strata Community Association and co-founder/director of Vantage Strata and Taylr Services, couriers have become ‘too comfortable’ with this seemingly innocent habit and it’s causing major problems for apartment dwellers across the capital.
“Since pretty much everyone was doing their shopping online during the pandemic, there were more deliveries than usual and it was difficult to police how they were handled or stored,” Chris says.
“It was somewhat understandable given the climate of the time, but couriers are continuing to leave apartment building foyers cluttered. It’s inconvenient at best and a huge safety risk at worst.
“I’m just waiting for a serious and completely preventable accident to happen, caused by this habit.”
When packages pile up, they present a trip hazard and can block elevators, stairwells and fire exits. They can also tempt would-be thieves.
“Piled-up deliveries in these areas are easy pickings for someone out to steal, and package theft is indeed on the rise,” Chris says.
“If you’re a wheelchair user and there’s a fire in your building but the access button is unreachable, how are you going to get out? It’s simple – thoroughfares must be kept clear.
“If someone was injured or even killed as a result of these access issues, it would be a major failure of building owners, owner corporations and anyone else with duty of care over residents.”
Chris says couriers responsible for leaving these obstructions are also in contravention of the Emergencies Act 2004, which carries severe financial penalties and even prison time for breaches.
A Canberra City apartment building. Security footage later showed a wheelchair user unable to access the button to exit the foyer. Photo: Chris Miller, Taylr.
He suggests the inclusion of secure ‘smart’ parcel lockers as a solution to this problem.
They’re not too common in Canberra, but Vantage Strata and Taylr resident services are leading the charge. Between them, the two companies have provided 25 facilities to date with 10 more on the way in the next 12 months.
“Long gone are the days of small, clunky boxes that are opened with a key and restricted to one person. With our systems, the courier enters a recipient’s details into a terminal, picks a delivery size and is assigned a locker to fit,” Chris says.
“They make the delivery, shut the door and the recipient gets a unique QR code which can be used to open the secure storage. Once the resident collects their package and the locker is closed, it’s available for the next courier to use. Simple!”
Smart locker systems can be used for more than just one-off parcels. They lend themselves to deliveries of all kinds – think dry cleaning, meal box subscriptions, key exchange for short stay accommodation, and more.
“Hopefully systems like these will help couriers adopt better habits,” Chris says.
“And if you notice parcels piling up in foyer areas, please don’t be afraid to report it to your strata manager. It’s all about safety.”
The first step to seeing smart parcel lockers in your building is talking to your strata manager or body corporate committee. For more information on premium concierge and resident services in Canberra, check out Taylr online.
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