Vincent Gramuglia, a Fultonville, N.Y., truck stop owner, was back in the New York press this week talking of plans for a peaceful protest convoy through the village of Skaneateles, scheduled for today. The New York state Department of Transportation has recently planned restrictions on large trucks in the town. Skaneateles sits in the path of U.S. 20, which serves as an alternate to the high-toll New York Thruway for many haulers, and Gramuglia blames what is seen as heavy truck traffic through the town on cut-rates from shippers that don’t account for the toll fees on the Thruway, set to increase in January by 5 percent, in January of 2010 by another 5 percent. “>For an 18-wheeler traveling from Geneva to Leroy on the Thruway, the difference, come January, will be 60 cents,” Alex Bauer reported in the Rochester, N.Y., Daily Messenger in September.
Gramuglia, director of the Mohawk Valley Truckers and Citizens United, said a plan that would waive Thruway tolls for garbage trucks on their way from New York City and other service vehicles would go a long way toward solving the perceived problem in Skaneateles. As of Wednesday, though, the planned convoy was on. “>We’re going to rock’n’roll,” Gramuglia told the Syracuse Post-Standard, adding that an expected 300 trucks could participate. But if prior TCU convoys are any indicator, fewer than 300 trucks could be expected.
