Seaway Trail receives federal funding
Monroe and Orleans counties to see benefits

Seaway Trail, Inc. has received more than a half-million dollars in federal funding to support programming along the 454-mile scenic byway that parallels New York State's Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River shorelines. The Seaway Trail is one of the federally designated America's Byways, a collection of scenic roads noted for unique links to the nation's history and beauty.

Seaway Trail, Inc., headquartered at the Seaway Trail Discovery Center in Sacketts Harbor, New York, will work with businesses, attractions and agencies throughout its 10-county (Chautauqua, Erie, Niagara, Orleans, Monroe, Wayne, Cayuga, Oswego, Jefferson, St. Lawrence) region on six projects supported by $526,288 in federal highway enhancement grant funds:

• $25,000 for development of a multi-day bicycle touring event along the byway. This event will be developed as a model program that other byway organizations can follow to increase their financial sustainability.
• $139,440 to add new byway interpretive information panels to the 65 existing Seaway Trail National Scenic Byway kiosk units located throughout the Trail region. The panels will inform travelers about the Trail and its travel themes and connections to adjacent byways and resources.
• $100,300 supports a Seaway Trail partnership with an international tour operator for marketing custom-made travel itineraries and tour packages for individual and group travelers. Packages, already developed and available via www.seawaytrail.com highlight Seaway Trail travel themes, such as lighthouses, international coastline, women's rights, nature, the French and Indian War, and regional foods.
• $108,040 will address specific visual and recreational needs of byway travelers in keeping with the Great Lakes Greenprint Project of the Trust for Public Land.
• $103,320 will install 25 interpretive signs to help 'tell the story' at significant Revolutionary War, Underground Railroad and folk tradition sites along the Seaway Trail. These interpretive signs will be designed to note each site's significance in connection to the Trail and to entice visitors to want to learn more by visiting other similar sites along the byway.
• $50,188 will develop a computerized database and targeted marketing plan to enhance Seaway Trail, Inc.'s 25 years' worth of consumer, business, media and travel trade contacts and partnerships The Seaway Trail is a well-marked, scenic alternative to interstate highways and toll roads for travelers. The region's features include sites such as Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse; the homes of famous Americans, including Kodak's George Eastman and suffragette Susan B. Anthony; the Frederick Law Olmsted-designated Seneca Park, and the National Toy Hall of Fame at the Strong Museum.

For information about the Seaway Trail, visit www.seawaytrail.com or call 1-800-SEAWAY-T.