To many locals, the Garden State Parkway is as synonymous with New Jersey as any of the state’s popular venues or attractions.
The roughly 170-mile-long highway stretches the entire eastern part of the state, meaning natives of North and South Jersey likely regularly drive on a stretch of the road. They may use it as part of their daily commute to work, or as the main road on summer trips to their favorite shore towns.
What residents may not know is how fast they can legally go at certain points on the Parkway. New Jerseyans are famous for their speed on roadways — and for their intolerance of slower motorists — but that speed is not always the same throughout the state’s longest highway.
Here is what to know about the speed limits for various stretches of the Garden State Parkway, as well as how those thresholds came to be.
Garden State Parkway speed limit: A breakdown
Drivers on the majority of the Parkway will see maximum posted speeds of 65 mph, according to state law. There are two main spots where the limit drops to 55 mph: a portion of approximately 40 miles between Paramus and Sayreville, and another 5-mile stretch in Toms River.
The New Jersey Turnpike Authority, the agency that maintains the Parkway, may also post temporary speed limits in certain areas during construction or other circumstances requiring slower travel. In those cases, drivers are required to abide by the updated signs, the law states.
History of NJ speed limits
Older residents may remember when the entire Parkway had a speed limit of 55 mph, in accordance with the national limit signed into law by then-President Richard Nixon in 1974. The measure was created in response to rising fuel prices, as the lower top speed resulted in better fuel efficiency.
But Congress repealed the law in 1995, returning the responsibility for setting highway speed limits to individual states. Two years later, the New Jersey Legislature voted to raise the speed limit to 65 mph in select areas of the state highway system.
Cars are backed up while waiting for a green light at a left-only turn at Exit 171 on the Garden State Parkway northbound in Woodcliff Lake on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024.
Highway study
In May 1998, officials designated 475 miles of roadway to be increased to the higher limit. The Department of Transportation then established a task force as part of a three-year study to determine what other roads could safely handle the jump as well.
The group looked at several factors in deciding where to make the changes. For example, they wanted segments to be at least 10 miles long so drivers would not be confused by frequent speed variations. They also did not want to increase the speed in areas with “significant recurring congestion,” which generally see lots of cars weaving in and out of traffic.
Following the study, the task force recommended 23 miles of the Parkway be increased to 65 mph, adding to the 103 miles that were already under the designation. Between the existing and recommended amounts, nearly 600 miles of roads were deemed to be properly equipped for the higher speed limit, many of which were in the less populated areas of northwest and South Jersey.
“In summary, the roadway segments selected for the 65 MPH Speed Limit tended to be in rural and suburban settings,” the study read, “while the 55 MPH Speed Limit remained in the more urban areas.”
Further increases to Garden State Parkway speed limits?
Some New Jersey lawmakers and citizens have proposed increasing the speed limit even more over the years, though no laws have been changed to this point.
In 2018, one resident created an online petition to raise the limit on certain highways to 75 mph. The man argued the move would lower unemployment rates, as residents would be more willing to travel farther for a job if they could get there faster.
That same year, Republican Sen. Declan O’Scanlon first proposed legislation allowing traffic engineers to adjust speed limits to the 85th percentile speed, or the threshold at or below which 85% of traffic already moves. O’Scanlon most recently reintroduced the bill in early 2024, where it was referred to the Senate Transportation Committee.
But an opposing petition was created in May 2024 by a man who endured severe pain for months after being rear-ended by a speeding driver. The creator argued that New Jerseyans already drive above the posted speed limits, so raising it will only make them go faster and lead to more serious crashes.
“We must prioritize safety over convenience,” the petition read. “We cannot allow such a change that will put our loved ones at risk every time they hit the road.”
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Garden State Parkway speed limit has a long and complex history