Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Scenic Byway

A byway program representative explained the designation only restricts new off-premise billboards, that existing signs are grandfathered in, that identical rules already apply on Route 20 and other existing byways, and that 163 of 176 affected municipalities have passed support resolutions.

A second byway representative (Janet) participated in answering legislators' questions about the byway's history, signage, and community impacts.

Speaking for the Underground Railroad Consortium of New York State, he explained 163 of 176 municipalities along the 550-mile byway have signed on, the governor recently signed the designation into law, and only the Town of Vernon has refused. He couldn't answer detailed questions about signage rules and urged a face-to-face meeting with the project leader, Allie Spunger.