Holland, Pennsylvania

Holland
unincorporated community
Country United States
State Pennsylvania
County Bucks
Township Northampton
Elevation 161 ft (49.1 m)
Coordinates 40°12′03″N 74°58′19″W / 40.20083°N 74.97194°W / 40.20083; -74.97194Coordinates: 40°12′03″N 74°58′19″W / 40.20083°N 74.97194°W / 40.20083; -74.97194
Timezone EST (UTC-5)
 - summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
Postal code 18966
Area code 215
Location of Holland in Pennsylvania
Location of Pennsylvania in the United States

Holland is an unincorporated community in Northampton Township,[1] Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located next to Newtown, Richboro, and Churchville. One of its communities is Village Shires, which has approximately 4,000 residents.

History

Despite its proximity to Philadelphia, Holland was rural for much of its history. A building boom in the 1970s resulted in a significant increase in housing capacity, mainly in the form of large tract housing developments (e.g. Hillcrestshire, located off of Buck Road). Since then, the town has seen additional growth, becoming a prototypical commuter bedroom community for suburban families. The area's proximity to both Philadelphia and the Trenton/Princeton, New Jersey area make Holland a desirable location, despite its lack of public transit.

Holland is located in the Council Rock School District, and is home to several of the district's schools: Council Rock High School South, Holland Middle School (formerly Holland Junior High, and prior to that Council Rock Intermediate School (CRIS)- Holland), Holland Elementary, Hillcrest Elementary, and Rolling Hills Elementary. Holland is also home to several private Catholic schools: Villa Joseph Marie High School, an all-girls school, and St Katharine Drexel Regional Catholic School, affiliated with St Bede the Venerable Parish.

Notable current and former residents include the following:

Passenger trains

History

Holland's growth as a commuter haven took place in the mid-1980s, just after the town lost its passenger trains. Regularly scheduled train service lasted until January 14, 1983[2] via SEPTA's Fox Chase Rapid Transit Line. The station, and all of those north of Fox Chase, were closed due to failing diesel train equipment that the then-cash-strapped SEPTA could not afford to rehabilitate. As a result, ridership was low and the service cancelled on a "temporary" basis. As such, Holland Station still appears in SEPTA's publicly posted tariffs.[3]

Holland Station site on Holland Road and Elm Avenue. Cement station platform and parking lot are to the left. Train service ended on January 14, 1983.

Although rail service was initially replaced with a Fox Chase-Newtown shuttle bus, patronage remained light. The traveling public never saw a bus service as a suitable replacement for a rail service, and the Fox Chase-Newtown shuttle bus service ended in 1999.

The Holland shelter was demolished in the summer of 2000, shortly after bus service was terminated.

Resumption of train service

In the ensuing years since 1983, there has been heavy interest by both residents and politicians in resuming passenger service to Holland.

In September 2009, the Southampton-based Pennsylvania Transit Expansion Coalition (PA-TEC) began discussions with township officials along the railway, as well as SEPTA officials, about the realistic possibility of resuming even minimal passenger service to relieve traffic congestion in the region. Plans call for completing the electrification to Newtown, as originally planned in the late 1970s.

PA-TEC's efforts have received overwhelming bipartisan support by both Bucks and Montgomery County officials, as well as at the state level, despite SEPTA's overall reservations.[4] However, SEPTA has also confirmed they are willing to reestablish regular commuter service if strong political support exists in both counties.[5]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.northamptontownship.com Norhtampton Township Website
  2. ↑ r8newtown.com
  3. ↑ SEPTA Tariff No. 154; effective July 1, 2009
  4. ↑ Werner, Jeff (March 5, 2010). "SEPTA: Reactivation of Newtown rail line a difficult prospect". Bucks Local News.
  5. ↑ r8newtown.com

External links

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