AURORA - As a deadline looms less than two weeks away that could end a 20-year struggle to limit truck traffic traveling in the Finger Lakes region, one of the parties is asking for an extension.

The state Department of Transportation is collecting comments submitted from residents, truck drivers and local officials about a proposal to remove long-haul truck traffic from seven routes many drivers use as short cuts through the area. DOT representatives will continue to receive opinions through Tuesday, Oct. 13. That date marks the end of the 45-day public comment period.

At this point, that's the deadline, unless the New York State Motor Truck Association's request is approved to have the DOT extend the public comment time until the organization can receive information it asked for.

The MTA submitted a Freedom of Information Act requesting the data that the DOT officials used to draft the proposal that would require long distance truck drivers to stick to interstates, according to MTA Director Kendra Adams.

The organization put in a request last week - after the public comment period already began. A representative from the Syracuse DOT location said no decision has been made this far about the request to consider the MTA's position.

Predictably, the Upstate Safety Task Force opposes the idea of temporarily halting the public hearing portion of the regulatory process. Gov. David Paterson agreed to look at drafting such regulations in April 2008.

Members of the coalition of local leaders pushed for the regulations that would keep long-haul tractor-trailers off seven rural routes and scenic byways in the Finger Lakes. They began this campaign nearly two decades ago to prevent trash trucks using smaller roads through the Finger Lakes as they travel from New York City to an upstate landfill.

After the 45 days of gathering information, DOT representatives will comb through the opinions and consider any new information. They will amend the proposal to reflect any fresh concerns or address legitimate issues. If there are no major changes, the truck traffic regulations will then become state law. If there are critical issues or changes, then the DOT will scratch the proposal and begin again.

“This is a stalling tactic,” task force President Barbara Clary said of the MTA's request.

Aurora Trustee George Farenthold agreed. He said that after a meeting in December 2007 with parties from the New York City sanitation, landfill owners, local and state officials, he believed the task force was near a resolution.

Now, 22 months later, he is more cautious about saying that.

“We're seeing that there is a pattern of delays,” he said. “Isn't 20 years long enough?”

He and Owasco Supervisor John Klink added that their residents are anxious for a conclusion to this campaign to keep trucks off specific routes.

Task force members have sent flyers to their residents or spoke to many homeowners along affected routes, telling them how to send comments.

In turn, many people who live in the affected villages and towns have voiced their support to officials involved with the task force, which includes representatives from the village of Skaneateles, Owasco, Aurora, Ithaca or Tompkins County.

Farenthold said he was approached by three people in the past 24 hours telling him they submitted comments in support of the proposal.

But Adams said the organization was not trying to influence the comment period either way by the request for more time.

“We asked for consideration for the time so we could get that information in time,” Adams said.