It's the source of frustrations for some who live locally, and Halton Hills Council is looking to do something about it.
The politicians voted on Monday (June 19) to take the first step in potentially changing some of the postal codes in the rural area.
A motion passed by council asks Town staff to report back to the budget committee with a plan to consult local residents and businesses on the topic, and the costs of gathering the input.
“Some people had contacted us, asking about it,” said Councillor Clark Somerville, who brought the motion forth.
He explained that if council ultimately passes a motion - following a public consultation - to change the postal codes, Canada Post will amend them.
A large portion in the south of the municipality uses a forward sortation area (FSA) code that belongs to Milton. The FSA is the first three digits of a postal code, denoting a major geographic area like, but not limited to, a municipality.
Parts of Third, Fourth and Fifth Lines fall under the L9T FSA postal code. Acton shares the L7J code with Wellington County. This often causes confusion as mapping apps like Google Maps will list the incorrect municipalities in addresses.
“It's preventing our ideal customer from seeing us as a potential,” Farm Girl Fitness owner Jessie Thomas told HaltonHillsToday.
Her business, located on Third Line in Halton Hills, has a Milton address on Google Maps. She believes she's losing out on customers due to the error.
“If they live in Georgetown, Acton or Glen Williams, they will automatically assume that we’re just too far.”
But it's not just affecting Thomas’ uptake of clientele. She often has to go further than she feels is necessary to pick up parcels.
“I actually driver past another post office on the way to my post office depot in Milton,” she said. “We believe the root of this problem is the postal code.”
Councillor Joseph Racinsky said he believes the postal codes situation “needs to be cleaned up.”
“In this age of GPS and whatnot, it can be very confusing and very irritating for people,” he noted.
Mayor Ann Lawlor echoed both Racinsky and Somerville, going on to praise the consultation process as an “important exercise. It certainly will cost the Town some money to have that consultation… But it will be interesting to see where it goes.”
The budget committee will consider the staff report when it meets in December to begin combing through the Town's 2024 finances.
