The need
With a population of about 650 people, the Town of Holland, Ind. may be small, but it has an abundance of charm. Attractions include the Holland Commons, a new park and gathering space celebrating the town’s history, a family-owned ice cream shop called the Windmill Chill, and the Historic Heitman House, which is being developed into a community center and event space.
Located in southwestern Indiana near the intersection of Interstate 64 and U.S. 231, Holland gets plenty of through traffic from motorists commuting between larger nearby communities like Jasper, Huntingburg, and Evansville. Looking for ways to revitalize its downtown and promote safety and social connectedness, town leaders identified a need to update its aging road and sidewalk infrastructure to link the downtown and local amenities, such as the elementary school, daycare, health clinic, and large community park.
The opportunity
In the summer of 2023, town leaders connected with the Indiana Resilience Funding Hub through an existing relationship with the IU Center for Rural Engagement (CRE). The town’s desire to improve community safety and cohesion among its public spaces made it a good fit for federal funding opportunities available to Indiana communities for transportation safety.
Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) is a US Department of Transportation program to improve the safety of roads and streets. The program distributes $1 billion a year to communities across the country to fund planning, infrastructure, and other initiatives that prevent death and serious injury on roadways. In the case of Holland, a SS4A planning grant would allow them to create a safety action plan and explore solutions like enhancing social connectivity via safer bike lanes and sidewalks connecting various attractions.
Town leaders met with IRFH staff in June 2023 to discuss the project. With only about a month to submit the application, the Hub team moved quickly to put together a project narrative and budget that met Holland’s needs.
Support and resources
Throughout the grant planning process, the IRFH team supported initial data gathering, proposal writing, and the grant application itself. While Holland leaders assessed community needs, IRFH staff tracked down key proposal details.
The Hub team utilized multiple government tools to access data for the proposal, including the Department of Transportation Equitable Transportation Community Explorer, census tract and demographic tools, and the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool. Furthermore, the team created maps to analyze and visualize this data using ArcGIS.
The award
In December 2023, Holland received notification that their application was successful. The $146,960 award will fund a comprehensive safety action plan that will explore strategies to address the town’s safety concerns, including bike lanes and pedestrian corridors. The plan will also position Holland to apply for additional SS4A funds to implement strategies identified by the plan.
As town leaders brainstorm next steps—they may hire a consultant or work with a regional planning commission—IRFH continues to offer support and technical assistance as needed.
“We’re very grateful and looking forward to the possibilities ahead,” said Lee Bilderback, a member of the Holland Events Committee and the Dubois County Community Foundation. “Our town has a lot of things going for it, and we think this will be another tool to take Holland forward.”
About the Environmental Resilience Institute
Indiana University’s Environmental Resilience Institute brings together a broad coalition of government, business, nonprofit, and community leaders to help Indiana and the Midwest better prepare for the challenges of environmental change. By integrating research, education, and community, ERI is working to create a more sustainable, equitable, and prosperous future. Learn more at eri.iu.edu.
