Byway promises to bring better return for tourist’s dollar

 

Can a region be driven to greater prosperity? It is possible, say advocates of the Shawangunk Mountains Scenic Byway, if the driving is done along scenic roads as part of a coordinated campaign to provide tourists a more enjoyable stay. And that campaign is now reaching a higher gear.

The 88-mile route of the Shawangunk Mountains Scenic Byway encircles the northern Shawangunk Mountains in Ulster and Orange Counties, traversing the scenic Rondout and Wallkill valleys through the towns of Crawford, Gardiner, Marbletown, Montgomery, New Paltz, Rochester, Rosendale, Shawangunk, Wawarsing and the villages of Ellenville and New Paltz.

On May 20 the 11 municipalities participating in the scenic byway announced they have approved by unanimous vote the final draft of the Shawangunk Mountains Regional Open Space Plan.

The plan is now available for viewing and downloading from the new web site at mtnscenicbyway.org, which will serve as a resource for visitors and locals alike in finding interesting and beautiful attractions in the area. (See Good Things in this issue for more details on the Web site.)

“It”™s a win-win situation for the community at large and everyone in the entire region,” said New Paltz Regional Chamber of Commerce President Joyce Minard. She said the byway”™s ability to let visitors locate attractions in a broad geographical area will disperse traffic, spread  tourism dollars and prove popular to visitors who like what they visit, and love what they see as they are journeying there. “And so you will have happy people who will come back to the region and spend money.”Â 

“In terms of tourism people come to the area because of the mountains go up to the mountain and hike and bike and rock climb and then often they go right home,” said Al Wegener, executive director of Shawangunk Mountains Regional Partnership which has led a successful 10-year campaign to get state approval and funding for the byway. “That happens a lot, we are less than 90 miles from New York City and people do visit and go home for dinner. And as a result, we don”™t get as much economic benefit as we could.

The whole idea of the byway is to tell people, ”˜Hey, stop and stay awhile. We”™ve got many things that interest you.”™”

He said that the byway is not seeking to attract more tourists, but only to provide more reasons for those who already visit to further appreciate the area, aesthetically and through spending their time and money here at the many restaurants, art galleries, historic sites and scenic and natural splendors. 

The area considered in the plan covers the region outlined by the route of the Shawangunk Mountains Scenic Byway and related areas, such as historic districts. In all, the region encompasses some 134,000 acres. Of these, 60,000 acres are in the mountains and the 320 farms in the region cover about 28,000 acres. About 33,500 acres are in a protected status, with around 89 percent of this in the mountains, leaving only 11 percent of the land in the valleys in a protected position.

Byway officials appreciate the economic importance of agriculture, which ranks first in the region, and cite the contribution farms, orchards and vineyards make to tourism, thus generating growth for many other businesses. Thus, while the mountains are the centerpiece of the region, the plan emphasizes the importance of scenic views of the mountains across farmland and open space and includes specific strategies for preserving farmland and scenic views and for maintaining healthy forests.

The byway is made possible by grants awarded to the state Scenic Byways Program through the Federal Highway Administration”™s National Scenic Byways Program and by the state Department of Economic Development arranged by state Sen. John J. Bonacic.

In addition to the Web site, the regional tourism plan also includes a guide to the region in magazine format, which will be published in June, poster-size maps of the byway, publicity of byway activities and presentations to community and special-interest groups.

The program expands next year to include portable kiosk visitor centers, a guide to historic sites and antique shops, and a guide to the farms and farm markets in the region. The byways will also have distinctive signs which “are in the works” with the state DOT, said Wegener