New restrictions set to be in place as soon as Dec. 1 will lessen truck traffic on several area roads, but the changes may actually worsen the problem in Skaneateles.

After years of discussion, state leaders this summer finally came up with a proposal to limit non-local truck traffic on several roads that pass through small communities. The main goal of the plan was to keep downstate garbage haulers from using the Finger Lakes region as a shortcut to landfills like Seneca Meadows in Waterloo.

But because the plan had to be altered to avoid interfering with federal highway guidelines pertaining to the use of U.S. roads like Route 20, the main drag through Skaneateles will remain free of any restrictions.

This is especially ironic, considering that downtown Skaneateles became a focal point for concerns about congestion, noise and safety, with Gov. David Paterson, Sen. Charles Schumer and others using the scenic background there for public announcements about their plans to keep the trucks away.

Clear winners in the revised plan include places like Aurora, Union Springs, Moravia and Owasco, where state Routes 34, 38, 41A and 90 will be off-limits to trucks that are just passing through.

Skaneateles Village Mayor Bob Green said he's optimistic that truck traffic will be substantially reduced in Skaneateles, given that Routes 41 and 41A will be seeing fewer trucks, but there's a real possibility that downstate haulers might use Route 20 just as much, if not more, than before, to avoid the lengthier drive and tolls associated with the state Thruway.

So, while residents of some area towns and villages are certainly celebrating the news that fewer trucks will be cutting through their neighborhoods, downtown Skaneateles businesses and residents are going to have to wait and see what the impact of the new road restrictions will mean for them.