ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — New York State officially designated a new highway route connecting Auburn to Niagara Falls to honor abolitionist Harriet Tubman and those who escaped slavery. Governor Kathy Hochul signed the scenic byway legislation into law on Saturday during Buffalo’s Juneteenth parade.
Supreme Court declines to review failed challenge to New York gun law
In the video at the top of this story, Hochul talked about the legislation, Tubman’s legacy, and the spirit of Juneteenth. “I was literally 8 years old when I first read a book about Harriet Tubman, and her story has captivated my life ever since then,” she told parade attendees on Saturday.
The Juneteenth holiday commemorates the date when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas found out they were free in 1865. That was over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
New York State policy roadmap proposes billions in nuclear subsidies
The State Department of Transportation will install highway signs along the route, highlighting and directing drivers to historical Underground Railroad landmarks. The first phase of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway covers about 175 miles across eight counties. Spanning Auburn, Geneva, Lyons, Rochester, Lockport, and Buffalo, the route concludes on Depot Avenue West in Niagara Falls. The path connects 22 sites associated with Tubman and the Underground Railroad, according to the governor’s office.
The signs along the scenic byway will make Tubman’s name highly visible, and the designation makes room for new additions along the route like kiosks, historical exhibits, events, and experience centers designed to teach the area’s history to visitors. The aim is also to help for local businesses, restaurants, and hotels capture some of the $1,182 spent by the average tourist on heritage trails.
Federal lawsuit filed to block New York’s Medical Aid in Dying law
The legislation includes a new land use restriction about highway advertising for local governments. Since federal law prohibits erecting new permanent commercial billboards along scenic byways, the Harriet Tubman scenic byway designation requires municipalities not to approve any new standalone commercial billboards along more than 20 different roads along the route…