One street, one place to look

Groves Edge is how the full-time residents of North Groves Edge Drive tell each other what is going on — the monthly social, a book club, a neighbor who could use a hand.

It works by text message. You get a message, you reply to it, and that is the whole thing. There is no app to download, no password to remember, and nothing to install.

What you would get

• An invitation when someone hosts the monthly social, so you can say whether you are coming
• Notices about the street — road work, water off, a lost dog
• Activities neighbors are starting: book club, mahjong, whatever else
• A heads up when a neighbor notices something at your place that needs attention — a garage door left open, water where it should not be

You choose which of those reach you, and how often. You can change it any time, or stop everything with one word.

What it costs you

Nothing this year. The first year is prepaid, so the street can find out whether this is any use before anyone is asked for anything.

After that, a small yearly donation to cover the messaging costs may be asked for — we think somewhere around $5 to $8 a household. That would be a donation, not a bill, and nothing about it is signed or locked in. Your own carrier's usual message and data rates may apply, as with any text.