SKANEATELES - Truck drivers driving large tractor trailers to upstate landfills will soon have to think twice before leaving the main highway, Gov. David Paterson said Monday.

Paterson, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer and a handful of state and local officials announced that the state Department of Transportation will develop a new policy to keep large, non-local trucks from traveling through towns in the Finger Lakes region.

The new regulations will be available for public view by the first week of June. Paterson said he expects them to be implemented this summer.

“We are trying to do this as quickly as possible,” Paterson said.

The announcement was made at a press conference on the lawn in front of the Sherwood Inn. The historic hotel is adjacent to Route 20, on which many tractor trailers loaded with garbage drive on their way to local landfills such as Seneca Meadows in Waterloo.

Paterson did not detail the specifics of the future policy, but he said the regulations would exclude local pick-up and delivery vehicles. The point will be to keep the large trash trucks on interstate highways, he said.

“The United States created the national interstate highway system specifically to transport freight all over this state and, of course, interstate commerce,” Paterson said. “Many of the roads in our towns are scenic. They are part of the great tourist attraction we have. We want to preserve it, and keep it that way.”

The state DOT will likely model its regulations after a similar policy recently enacted by New Jersey, Paterson said in a press release. That policy requires all large trucks to use a national network comprised almost entirely of interstate highways.

Truckers may only leave that network when seeking food, fuel, rest, repairs, or to reach a terminal by the direct route, which entails the shortest travel distance, according to the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

The new regulations in New York are a response to concerns over the fumes, noise and safety hazards created by the trucks as they drive along rural routes, Paterson said. Citizens have also raised environmental concerns over the possibility of a truck spilling its contents and contaminating the watershed, he said.

The Upstate New York Safety Coalition Task Force has been one of the citizen groups raising such concerns. The coalition of local residents and officials has met with state representatives in Albany numerous times in regards to the issue.

George Farenthold, vice president of the task force and an Aurora village trustee, said the trucks affect more than just quality of life. Four water mains have broken in Aurora over the last 20 months, Farenthold said.

Large tractor trailers routinely drive through Aurora on Route 90, he said.

“These overweight trucks are stressing the infrastructure,” Farenthold said after the press conference. “This is about the greater good and the best interest of the public.”

State Assemblymen Brian Kolb, Gary Finch, Will Barclay and state Senator John DeFrancisco also spoke. Numerous large, noisy trucks passed by on Route 20 during the press conference. However, the vast majority of the trucks were local, construction-related vehicles.

“Today, we don't have any of those garbage trucks. They heard that we're coming,” Schumer said.

Not everyone was pleased Monday after the announcement. Kendra Adams, president of the New York State Motor Truck Association, said the organization is “incredibly disappointed” to hear about the governor's plan.

Members of the motor truck association have been aware of the concerns over the trash trucks and have offered some solutions to officials, Adams said. The truckers are taking the rural routes for basic economic reasons, such as saving fuel and avoiding tolls. They will avoid the routes if they have a financial incentive to do so, she said.

And while Monday's conference focused on large trucks hauling trash, state transportation regulations would be a financial hit to truckers throughout the state, Adams added.

“To just restrict (their travel) to interstate highways puts the financial burden on them,” Adams said of the truckers. “It will only serve to continue to increase the cost of goods in this state.”

Seneca Meadows District Manager Don Gentilcore said Monday that most of his customers are actually based in upstate locations. Regulations keeping trucks on the interstate highways will definitely have an impact on the upstate economy, including both the truck companies and the taxpayers, he said.

Seneca Meadows has advocated for a comprehensive regional study on the issue, Gentilcore said. That way, lawmakers can hear from all the parties affected by new policies.

“Sometimes we are a little too quick to make decisions,” he said. “More information needs to be gathered.”

But Skaneateles Village Mayor Robert Green said the community has been fighting for decades to keep the hundreds of trash trucks from taking the rural routes in Central New York every day.

“We're very grateful as a community,” Green said after the press conference. “This is a great day for local communities in the Finger Lakes.”

Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.

See the video

For video coverage from Monday's press conference, go to auburnpub.com