HOLLAND, MI -- Downtown Holland’s main drag earned a top honor as one of the most pristine streets in the country, according to a recent survey. Eighth Street, the heart of downtown Holland and its famous Tulip Time festival, ranked No. 12 on Waste Removal’s Top 100 Cleanest Streets in America survey .
Waste Removal USA asked 3,000 travelers and tourists which towns and cities they thought had the most pristine streets. The survey identified some common threads among the top 100 towns with the most pristine streets, including historical significance, heritage preservation, year-round cleanliness and event preparedness. Holland Downtown Development Coordinator Jeff Genova said the city takes great pride in its downtown scene and wants Eighth Street to be a welcoming place for everyone.
“Our Parks and Recreation department does a great job of keeping the streets clean,” he said. “They also plant our flower beds and urns keeping them beautiful year-round, with tulips in the spring to festive holiday decorations in the fall.” Tulip Time has been the biggest draw to downtown Holland every spring, celebrating the annual blooming of the tulips and the town’s Dutch heritage for nearly 100 years.
The festival, which next year takes place May 3-11, attracted around 500,000 attendees and generated some $48 million in revenue, according to a 2018 economic impact study . Holland, however, doesn’t just clean itself up for spring. With the largest municipal snowmelt system in the U.
S., downtown Holland ensures easy walkability between the dozens of shops and eateries along Eighth Street. Kerstmarkt, Holland’s open-air European market, kicks of the holiday season and takes place on weekends from Nov.
23-Dec. 21 at the Eighth Street Marketplace. Visitors can also catch a glimpse of Santa Claus during the annual Parade of Lights down Eighth Street on Dec.
3. The top 10 cleanest streets in the country were found in Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maine, Utah and South Dakota, with Georgia claiming three of the top 10 spots. S Main Street in Michigan’s historic German town of Frankenmuth also made the top 100 at No.
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