By MICHAEL HILL
Associated Press

ALBANY - Gov. David Paterson's proposal to limit truck traffic on New York's rural roads is being revised after a federal transportation official argued it would conflict with national regulations.

Paterson proposed restrictions in May to help residents of the Finger Lakes and other rural areas upset by the frequent rumble of trucks through their little towns. Critics claim that more garbage trucks and other haulers are avoiding interstates to save money on gas and avoid tolls.

The existing proposal from the state Department of Transportation would make trucks 45 feet or longer stick to interstates and other major highways and use lesser routes only when they provide exclusive access to and from their destination and under some exceptional conditions, such as severe weather.

But during a public comment period last month, a Federal Highway Administration official in Albany wrote a letter to state Transportation Commissioner Astrid Glynn saying there were problems with the proposal.

"Our review indicates that adoption of the regulations as currently written would not comply with the applicable federal truck size and weight laws and regulations," according to a Sept. 19 letter from Jeffrey Kolb, division administrator of the FHWA.

Kolb added that the agency would review its legal options if New York adopts the regulations as written.

State transportation department spokesman Charles Carrier said Oct. 16 that the agency is revising its proposed regulations based on the FHWA's feedback and public comment. He said the agency still hopes to have revised regulations soon.

"I think we're still on pace," Carrier said.

FHWA spokeswoman Nancy Singer explained that New York had proposed to deny trucks what federal regulations define as "reasonable access."

"The state essentially must show some sort of safety or engineering analysis in order to restrict the trucks, that's the crux," Singer said.

Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton, an Ithaca Democrat, said she was assured by Glynn that truck regulations can still be adopted. Lifton said the change can't come soon enough in her district.

"We're just really bombarded by truck traffic," she said.

"We are confident that the New York State Department of Transportation can craft regulations that keep unwanted trucks on highways, and off rural roads, in a way that conforms with all existing laws," said Deirdre Murphy, a spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer.