The Upper Delaware Scenic Byway was 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.
Timeline
- 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.
- 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 of Barryville, is launched in July 2007. Unique page visits to date are 119,774. Memberships are available to businesses on the byway’s website under the appropriate directories of traveler amenities. Local history 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 $682,730 in county, state, and federal grant funding from 1999 to 2014. 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 $69,310 from 2005 to 2014 to help support the non-profit organization’s annual operations.
- NYS Senator John J. Bonacic secures a $250,000 member item in the 2007 budget for capital construction of an Upper Delaware Scenic Byway Visitor Center. The UDSB Committee allocates a $25,000 state grant to a Feasibility Study and Design Concept to potentially locate the facility at Fort Delaware Museum of Colonial History in Narrowsburg, with the study completed in December 2011.
- The UDSB, Inc. administers three rounds of New York State Legislative Member Item grants ($60,000 completed by 8/31/07, $65,000 by 8/31/09, and $50,000 by 8/15/12) benefiting a variety of 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 distributed free of charge to restaurants, fire departments, and civic organizations.
- 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 in byway communities resumes in the Spring of 2011.
- 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” done in 2011. Eight 4×2-foot customized, outdoor interpretative panels are designed and installed in each byway community. A brochure is created and public seminars held on the theme of “Spread the Word, Not the Weed: Battle the Invasion of Japanese Knotweed on Our Native Plants, Riverbanks and Views.”
- 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; 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 from June 1-Nov. 2, 2009. The inviting commercial may be heard on the UDSB website. A $25,000 state grant in Summer of 2012 subsidizes a Matching Funds Advertising Program with the Sullivan County Visitors Association to place strategic byway print and radio ads.
- The UDSB, Inc. wins a 2013 Sullivan County Historic and Cultural Assistance Program matching grant to produce color logo stickers and magnets to increase awareness of the designation and serve as a fundraiser.
- 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.
BYWAY COMMITTEE OFFICERS:
| Municipality | Representative | Alternate |
| Sullivan County | Freda Eisenberg | Heather Jacksy |
| Village of Hancock | Richard H. Lowe, III – Chair | Vacant |
| Town of Delaware | Rosie DeCristofaro – Vice Chair | Lily Smith |
| Town of Cochecton | Larry Richardson – Secretary-Treasurer | Sean Nearing |
| Town of Tusten | Josh Felderstein | Rose Fredricks |
| Town of Highland | Lacey Gutekunst Madden | Vacant |
| Town of Lumberland | Susan Fraysse Russ | Vacant |
| Town of Deerpark | Bill Dudko | Ginny Dudko |
| City of Port Jervis | Teresa Spradling | Mayor Kelly Decker |
Non-voting Committee Members:
Johnny Pizzolato, Greater Barryville Chamber of Commerce
Ingrid Peterec, NPS Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River
Christine Colley and Kris Gilbert, NYS Department of Transportation
Laurie Ramie, Upper Delaware Council, & UDSB Recording & Corresponding Secretary
Shannon Cilento, Sullivan Renaissance
Debra Conway, The Delaware Company
Rachel Morrow, Delaware Highlands Conservancy
Nicole Vallance, Callicoon Business Association
Jean Kogut, Narrowsburg Chamber of Commerce
Roberta Byron-Lockwood, Sullivan Catskills Visitors Association
Amanda Dana, Orange County Tourism
Ray Pucci, Delaware County Chamber of Commerce