A recent guest columnist asked your readers “What if this were your neighborhood?” (Gazette, June 13). I can provide an answer to that question because as long as I have lived in Haydenville, I have considered that it is my neighborhood. Am I to understand now that I was wrong — that South Main Street is exclusive to those who live on that one block on a road my family and I walk or drive on everyday?

I love seeing the gardens, lawns, trees, welcoming residents and I forgive them for uncleared sections of sidewalks, low hanging vegetation, and even parking on the sidewalk, because they are my neighbors.

I am enthusiastic about what the shared use path will bring to our neighborhood:

■Stormwater management and drainage improvements.

■Increased climate resilience through forward-looking infrastructure upgrades.

Complete Streets objectives for universally accessible, multi-modal transportation corridors.

■Replacing the failing town sidewalk.

■New curbing and road resurfacing.

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■Improved traffic calming, safety, and visibility at the South Main/Fort Hill Road intersection.

All this in addition to a well-paved, maintained shared path for walkers and wheelchairs and children and pets. And yes, bikers who choose to use it instead of the roadway, although I am guessing that virtually all through bikers will choose to remain on the road.

And all of this is already paid for by grants and a T-Bond secured by the Greenway Committee on behalf of the town.

As a member of the Mill River Greenway Committee I have had the opportunity to listen to and work to accommodate the issues and fears of the South Main residents for the last two years. The plans approved this spring by the town Select Board incorporate the abutters’ suggestions wherever they are legal or safe. The engineering firm offered to meet with every household to address specific concerns. These are all actions of good neighbors.

The complexity and the extraordinary demands of the modern world call for cooperation, collaboration, and community. The Greenway Committee and the Select Board are good neighbors working to improve the neighborhood to which we all belong.

Frances Borden

Haydenville