A meeting in the town of Shandaken to discuss applying for scenic byway status for a roughly 50-mile stretch of Route 28, which was postponed several weeks ago, has been rescheduled. The meeting will be held tonight at the Shandaken town hall, at 6pm.
The scenic byway project, which is being spearheaded by a group called the Central Catskills Collaborative (CCC) with help from the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, requires the approval and cooperation of five towns -- Andes, Hurley, Olive, Middletown and Shandaken -- as well as the villages of Fleischmanns and Margaretville in Middletown. If scenic byway status is conferred on Route 28, federal grant money may be made available for tourism promotion in the region.
In December, the Shandaken town board tabled a vote to adopt the CCC's scenic byway plan, after several citizens and board members raised concerns that a scenic byway designation might impose more regulations on local business owners. Tonight's hearing will be a forum to discuss the issue before the board makes its decision.
The CCC's plan for the scenic byway is embedded below.
