Photo of Route 28 road signs by Daniel Case. From Wikimedia Commons, published under Creative Commons license.
Much has been said, with much more likely remaining to be said, about ongoing efforts to gain a scenic byway designation for a 50-mile section of Route 28 that includes Shandaken. It will be the topic of a public hearing by the Shandaken Town Board on January 24.
There is little doubt that Shandaken could benefit from more tourists coming to our town since tourism is a major part of our local economy. Scenic Byways exist to bring public attention and recognition to roads that travel through areas thought to be of exceptional interest. Currently, in the entire U.S, only 120 roads are designated as National Scenic Byways. Another 31 are recognized for having greater significance still, and they carry the distinction of being named “All-American Roads. “
If a coalition of citizens and government officials from towns along the 50-mile stretch of Route 28 in question are successful in making the case for it, Route 28 may soon be formally added to one or the other of those special lists. Their efforts have been ongoing for several years, and have now reached the point where formal backing from the towns in question is essential to any hope of success.
The Byway distinction is not one given lightly. Economic benefits often flow to communities that border Scenic Byways and All-American Roads. The recognition tends to be coveted, and it is up to the inhabitants of an area to make the case for why a given road deserves that status. It is not a recognition imposed from above on any area where residents do not want it, and that is why the upcoming public hearing carries significance.
With strong public and local government support, there is excellent reason to believe that the stretch of Route 28 passing through Shandaken, and beyond, can be so honored. Six qualities are looked for in making the determination and only one must be adequately met for a road to qualify as a National Scenic Byway [Note: there is a preliminary process to qualify as a state scenic byway – often a stepping stone toward national recognition]. If a road aces at least two of the six criteria it is eligible to be named an “All American Road”.
The six criteria cited read like a literal description of what we have in Shandaken. Regions surrounding winning highways are recognized for their archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and/or scenic qualities. The full list is described in detail here.
If Route 28 becomes an acknowledged scenic byway it means free, ongoing, positive publicity for Shandaken, highlighting all that is special about our town that could tempt travelers to spend more of their time and dollars here. That’s a significant economic benefit right there, but there’s more to it than that. Formal recognition also opens the door to qualifying for significant federal grants. Despite or perhaps because of that, some members of the Shandaken Town Board raised a possible concern when they decided to call for a public hearing.
In a nutshell, could scenic byway recognition of Route 28 adversely impact Shandaken home rule? From what I can tell, that seems highly unlikely. For starters, that fear is directly confronted on the Byways.org home page where it states: “Perhaps one of the underlying principles for the program has been articulated best by the Byway leader who said, “The program is about recognition, not regulation.” There are no Scenic Byway Rangers, nor any code to conform to. The hard part is acquiring a scenic byway, not coexisting with one.
Looking through recent records of federal funding for Scenic Byways and All-American roads in New York State provides some insights. One grant in particular caught my attention because it dealt with the issue of standardized signage. A concern that sign standards could be imposed on Shandaken is a matter that has been cited as a way home rule might be compromised should Route 28 become an official scenic byway.
The WNY Southtowns Scenic Byway was granted $66,464 in 2009 “to provide a comprehensive and uniform signage system to include the following: directional signage to bring visitors into the byway region; wayfinding signage along the byway route; a large-scale permanent map installation in a central location… designed as a self-guided Byway tour. The map display will show the entire byway route and provide a detailed map of the community with places of interest identified.”
That doesn’t seem oppressive to me, it actually sounds useful. More importantly though, it wasn’t required of the Byway, it was requested by the people who lived there. And they got the Feds to pay for it.
Another relevant upstate New York example of Byway federal funding is a 2010 $194,400 grant secured for the Lakes to Locks Passage Byway. The winning grant states “This project will develop byway Heritage Center and “Pocket Park” interpretive facilities along Lakes to Locks Passage. The Heritage Centers are existing community museums and libraries that showcase the community’s unique byway qualities…”
What jumped out of that for me was the phrase “existing community museums and libraries,” and the notion of Federal money going to existing local institutions to support their work promoting their own communities. I can think of a library in Phoenicia that could sorely use some grants right about now and another in Pine Hill that’s already on the National Registry of Historic Places. Shandaken has a library dedicated to town history in Pine Hill that could sure use a boost, and there’s a non-profit railway museum in Phoenicia struggling to tell the epic story of how trains helped build the Catskills.
I concede I’m not an expert on the subject of National Scenic Byways. I suppose there could be some bureaucratic headaches or worse that might arise from a Route 28 designation that I’m simply not aware of. But it’s the limitations we already live with that concern me more. Between the New York City watershed and Catskill State Park, our options for economic growth are limited. Here, though, is a chance for Shandaken to maximize the assets that we do have.
I will close by pointing out that the Locks to Lakes Passage Byway mentioned above also benefited from a $224,800 federal grant in 2007, and shared an additional $200,000 federal grant with another New York State Byway in 2010. Numbers like that are not uncommon for Byway programs and could make a big difference along a Route 28 Scenic Byway. It comes down to a question of vision. What vision does Shandaken have?
Tom Rinaldo writes the Dispatches from Shandaken column for the Watershed Post’s Shandaken page. Email Tom at tomrinaldo@watershedpost.com.
Update: An earlier draft of this story referred to the "National Register of Historic Buildings;" it's the National Register of Historic Places. The post has been corrected.
