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Presenter asks council to consider Harriet Tubman byway resolution; DOT signage rules highlighted
Summary
An official with the Underground Railroad Consortium of New York State briefed the council on a proposed 550-mile Harriet Tubman state byway route and asked the city to consider a resolution; she said DOT requires byway designations to limit new off‑premise commercial signage.
Alice Fondredagan, president of the Underground Railroad Consortium of New York State and director of the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center, presented information about the proposed Harriet Tubman (Harriet Southern Underground Railroad) state byway and asked the Tonawanda City Council to consider formal support.
Fondredagan described a 550-mile New York State byway that would run from Manhattan through the Hudson Valley to Albany and across to Niagara Falls; in Western New York the proposed route would pass through Black Port, Amherst, the City of Buffalo, Village of Kenmore, City of Tonawanda, North Tonawanda and end in Niagara Falls. She said designating the route as a state byway is intended to recognize local history related to Harriet Tubman, freedom seekers and abolitionist activity and could support educational programming and heritage tourism.
Fondredagan told the council the designation is a “drivable” route on existing roadways that requires no physical changes to streets. She also explained a New York State Department of Transportation requirement commonly associated with state byways: DOT does not permit new off‑premise commercial signage (typical billboards) along designated byways; existing billboards can be assessed and, where applicable, grandfathered. She asked the council to review the materials and consider a resolution; the presenter requested the council review the proposal and indicated June 3 at 6 p.m. as a date for further council consideration.
The presenter said the application process covers multiple counties and jurisdictions and that the consortium would seek segments of designation next winter (the presenter cited January 2026 as a target for segment designation activity). The presenter offered to answer questions and invited the council to a public information session; the clerk recorded the request for further review and the June 3 date.
No formal council vote on a resolution to support the byway was recorded at this meeting; the presenter’s request was placed on the record for council review at a subsequent meeting.
