For Your Information

Upper Delaware Scenic Byway Accomplishments

Participating as project partners in the dedication were, from left to right: Bill Douglass, Upper Delaware Council; Grace Johansen, Tusten Historical Society; Annie Hayes, Wayland Design; John Conway, Sullivan County Historian; Linda Dexter, Fort Delaware; NYS Assemblywoman Aileen M. Gunther, 98th District; Kristin Porter, Sullivan County Parks; Vidal Martinez, National Park Service; Glenn Pontier, Sullivan Renaissance; Robert Meyer, Sullivan County Division of Public Works; Ben Johnson, Town of Tusten; David Sager, Sullivan County Legislature District 1; Larry H. Richardson, UDSB; Wanda Gangel, Narrowsburg Beautification Group, and Peter Osborne, UDSB and Master of Ceremonies.

The Upper Delaware Scenic Byway is legislatively designated as a component of the New York State Scenic Byways System on Aug. 6, 2002 following a two-year, grassroots process to draft an Enhancement Concept Plan for New York State Route 97 in Orange, Sullivan, and Delaware Counties.

Vision Statement: “The Upper Delaware Scenic Byway will highlight what is already an exceptional feature of the region’s appeal to residents and visitors alike — the highway itself. The most significant and attractive aspects of the byway will continue to be its spectacular scenic vistas, access to the Delaware River and its resources, and the uniqueness of the communities along the byway. The economic climate will be enhanced through careful promotion of the byway and its resources. This will enable communities to retain their character and quality of life while reaping the economic benefits of tourism promotion, and will further opportunities for residents to earn a living wage. The byway’s communities will have vibrant, revitalized Main Streets. The visitor experience will be heightened through convenient and attractive facilities like turn-offs and overlooks, restroom and picnic areas. The byway itself will be safe for autos and bicycles but also remain open to commercial traffic so vital to the area. The visitor will have an exceptional year-round experience because of the abundant lodging, dining and recreational choices available and the hospitality of the area’s residents.”

Download the UDSB Enhancement Concept Plan and overview graphic.

Read UDSB Resolution 2011-03: Heavy Industrial Use Traffic on the NYS Route 97.

• BYWAY SIGNS DEDICATED: The Upper Delaware Scenic Byway, Inc. (UDSB) and Sullivan County Department of Parks, Recreation and Beautification held a Public Dedication Ceremony on Dec. 6 to unveil new interpretive panels recently installed in Narrowsburg through the New York State Scenic Byways Program Model Signage Initiative. Six historical signs are currently installed at the Eagle Observation Deck on Main Street, the Upper Delaware Council office on Bridge Street, and Fort Delaware Museum of Colonial History on NYS Route 97 / Kirk Road.

• A traveling dedication ceremony takes place Sept. 21, 2002 with 11 community stops from Port Jervis to Hancock, ribbon-cuttings, entertainment, and the distribution of a historic souvenir booklet.

• Eight thousand byway seasonal rack cards are produced in February 2003 for distribution.

• The Upper Delaware Scenic Byway achieves incorporation as a 501(c)(3) organization April 1, 2003. A volunteer committee of representatives appointed by their member municipalities (Village of Hancock, Towns of Delaware, Cochecton, Tusten, Highland, Lumberland, and Deerpark, City of Port Jervis, and Sullivan County) administers the byway, as per the organization’s bylaws adopted on June 2, 2003.

• UDSB, Inc. sponsors a free, one-day business conference, “97 Reasons to Meet on the Byway”, in Callicoon on November 8, 2003. St. Lawrence Seaway Trail Executive Director Teresa Mitchell offers tips of tourism marketing opportunities as the keynote speaker.

• UDSB announces the New Japanese Knotweed Brochure is out Press Release, Know Knotweed, Save Our Streams. This is a partnership publication by the following organizations to encourage awareness of best practices forJapanese knotweed management, Catskill Regional Invasive Species Partnership, National Park Service, Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River, Lumberland Environmental Council, Upper Delaware Scenic Byway, Inc., Sullivan Renaissance, Sullivan County Soil & Water Conservation District,and NYC Department of Environmental Protection. This project was funded in part by the Federal Highway Administration and administered by the New York State Scenic Byways Program at the New York State Department of Transportation. Funding was also received through a 2010 Environmental Initiative Grant from Sullivan Renaissance, a program of the Gerry Foundation.

• Route marker highway signs featuring the UDSB logo, installed in collaboration with the New York State Department of Transportation, are dedicated in a July 15, 2004 ceremony attended by numerous dignitaries.

• UDSB, Inc.begins distributing 100,000 copies of a 20-page, full-color “Meet Us on the Byway” brochure in May 2006, with a second re-print of 100,000 in March 2009. The Rt. 97 travelogue is carried in New York State’s welcome centers, the Palisades Parkway Information Center in New Jersey, regional businesses, 22 Sullivan County brochure racks maintained by Catskill-Delaware Publications, and is distributed as a call-to-action by the Sullivan County Visitors Association, Orange County Tourism, and Delaware County Tourism as the byway’s primary marketing piece.

• An interactive website at www.UpperDelawareScenicByway.org, created by W Design Group of Barryville, is launched in July 2007. Page hits nearly double from 394,903 in 2007 to 716,545 in 2008. January-August 2009 hits to date are 486,788. Memberships are available to businesses to promote their goods and services on the byway’s website under the appropriate directories of traveler amenities. Two benefit books are available for purchase.

• The organization debuts a toll-free hotline at 866-511-UDSB (8372), maintained by the Village of Hancock, on Sept. 1, 2007 to accept and fulfill byway brochure requests.

• The NYS Department of Transportation selects the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway as the host site for a Model Byway Signage Initiative to demonstrate design standards included in the NYS Scenic Byways Signage Manual. Six interpretive panels are produced for Narrowsburg and dedicated in a December 6, 2008 public ceremony.

• The Upper Delaware Scenic Byway, Inc. has secured $1,290,125.80 in county, state, and federal grant funding from 1999 to 2009. These funds facilitated the hiring of consultants to help the local committee draft the Enhancement Concept for presentation to the state, legal establishment of the UDSB non-profit organization, fabrication of trailblazer signage, development of promotional and interpretive materials including brochures and the website, sponsorship of several public events, and community improvement projects. Member municipalities have contributed $28,500 from 2005 to 2009 to help support the non-profit organization’s annual operations.

• A major portion of that grant success is attributed to a $510,000 federal earmark from U.S. Congressman Maurice Hinchey and a $250,000 member item from NYS Senator John J. Bonacic for development of an Upper Delaware Scenic Byway Visitor Center, targeted for construction at the site of the historic Cochecton Train Station on Rt. 97 in the Town of Cochecton. The environmentally-friendly facility will include exhibits, reservation information, meeting and office space, and restrooms.

• The UDSB, Inc. has successfully administered two rounds of New York State Legislative Member Item grants ($60,000 completed by 8/31/07 and $65,000 by 8/31/09) benefiting local improvement projects by UDSB member municipalities selected through a competitive proposal process.

• A $15,000 federal grant project is completed in September 2009 to create a GIS-based, copyrighted map for the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway and to produce 125,000 promotional placemats featuring the byway map and contact information that are being distributed free of charge to restaurants, fire departments, and civic organizations. Placemats are Now Available. Read our Press Release for more information.

• The Federal Highway Administration approves a $15,940 federal grant application for an “Upper Delaware Scenic Byway Invasive Plant Species Educational Campaign and Interpretive Signage Project” with a June 2011 completion date.

• Phase one of a $50,000 Rt. 97 Landscape Enhancements Project is completed in August 2010 with selective clearing of five sites along the byway corridor to open up scenic vistas of the Upper Delaware River. Additional beautification work will resume in the Spring of 2011.

• Feature articles and news releases about UDSB regularly appear in regional and national media outlets. Print advertisements and informational listings annually appear in travel guides widely distributed by the official tourism agencies for Sullivan, Orange, and Delaware Counties. Each county organization also promotes UDSB at travel trade shows and conventions held throughout the United States. UDSB has run three ads to date in the AAA “Car & Travel” magazine (945,000 circulation in 22 NY counties); as well as paid ads in magazines, newspapers, and I Love NY radio broadcasts. UDSB full-page color ads appear in the July and September 2010 issues of New York City/Hamptons “Resident” magazine.

• A series of radio and web-based advertising campaigns targeting the metropolitan market is commissioned on 1010 WINS-AM, starting in fall of 2007 and most recently running from June 1-Nov. 2, 2009. The inviting commercial may be heard on the UDSB website.

• The Upper Delaware Scenic Byway is publicly voted as the “Best Scenic Drive” in The River Reporter’s Reader’s Choice Best Survey from 2004 to present.

The organization meets every fourth Monday at 7 p.m. at the Upper Delaware Council office, 211 Bridge St., Narrowsburg. All meetings are open to the public. For more information, contact Laurie Ramie at (845) 252-3022 or info@upperdelawarescenicbyway.org.

PDF version of the UDSB Accomplishments.