Garbage-truck traffic through Ithaca -- instead of on the surrounding interstates -- does not appear to save truckers time or very much money, and it is causing major safety issues as well as road damage, noise and offensive odors, reports a new Cornell Institute for Public Affairs (CIPA) study.

The study examined the effects of garbage-truck traffic on residents living along Route 89 between Cass Park and Taughannock Falls State Park, which is used by hundreds of 18-wheel garbage trucks from New York City and other large cities carrying solid waste to the Seneca Meadows Landfill in Waterloo, N.Y. The study also includes data from focus groups along Routes 79, 96 and 34.

The project, organized at the request of the Upstate New York Safety Task Force, was overseen by Linda Haas Manley, program coordinator for CIPA's Public Service Exchange and was conducted by Cornell graduate students in two courses. It includes information from focus groups, law enforcement authorities and other experts and analyses of trucking routes.

Although limited in scope due to time constraints, the study is important, said Barbara Clary, president of the task force whose members have been working on the statewide issue for almost 20 years.

"The CIPA study will be very valuable to the task force efforts to have state laws that restrict large, non-local trucks from using the narrow state roads that were not designed for their weight, speed and size," said Clary. "We will use the findings to support our case with our federal- and state-elected officials to legally keep these big rigs on the interstate roads that they are meant to use."

Following an executive order issued by Gov. David Paterson in May, the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT), the state's official truck routing agency, announced on its Web site that it will develop regulations for large-truck routings that balance the need for large trucks to serve the state's economy with "needs to promote sustainable economic development, tourism and an improved quality of life for the people of New York state."

Heavy truck traffic on rural roads is not a new problem in Central New York, but it is a worsening problem in the Finger Lakes region. Truckers appear to be bypassing interstates to avoid tolls, fees and inspections. But one of the most significant findings of the CIPA study is how little time and money the truckers save by taking the shortcuts, said Clary.

The rural-route trip -- Interstate 81 from Binghamton to Route 79 at Whitney Point, to Route 89 in Ithaca to Route 20 to Seneca Meadows Landfill -- takes 5 hours round trip, is 196 miles and costs $143, the study shows. Alternatively, Interstate 81 (Binghamton) to Interstate 90 (Syracuse) to Seneca Meadows Landfill (Waterloo) takes 3 hours, 56 minutes, is 238 miles and costs $165 round trip, $22 more and one hour less. Soaring gas prices are not included in this analysis.

"The shortcut does not save time," said Clary. "So how can it save money?"

"Given the small amount of money they save, we have to wonder: Are these trucks overweight?" said Pam Mackesey, a Tompkins County legislator and member of the citizens task force. "Are they in violation of safety regulations? Are some of them trying to avoid the inspection station on Route 81 by getting off the highway at Whitney Point?"

Further analysis of the differences between the two routes could help the DOT decide how to make interstates more trucker friendly.

The CIPA study reports that Ithaca law enforcement officials who have stopped truckers on checkpoints along Route 89 have cited drivers for faulty brakes, false log books and overweight violations.

Haas Manley said the CIPA study does not address pollution from leaking garbage trucks and that all heavy truck traffic through rural routes should be included in policymaking. While further study would be helpful, Haas Manley said, people who live along the rural routes want action, not more data. As much as it is a local problem, the issue has to be "framed as a state issue for anything to be done," she concluded in her executive summary.

Recommendations include looking at how such states as New Jersey, Ohio and Virginia have addressed this issue. If another study were to be conducted, she stated, it would need to be on a statewide scale.

Cornell graduate students enrolled in two city and regional planning courses -- Quantitative Techniques for Policy Analysis and Program Management, taught by CIPA Director David Lewis, and Approaches to Consulting, Research, Evaluation and Program Development, taught by Manley -- conducted the study.

The executive summary and the full report will be available on the CIPA Web site, http://www.cipa.cornell.edu, in mid-June.