A New Jersey man has started a petition seeking to raise the speed limit on the Garden State Parkway to 75 mph -- a debate that even some state legislators believe should be re-examined.

Mendel Rosenfeld, of Lakewood, started a petition on Change.org seeking the 10 mph increase on the Parkway. The last speed increase on the Parkway - from 55 to 65 mph - was about 20 years ago, though some portions remain 55 mph.

In the petition entitled, "NJ is way behind" Rosenfeld says, "By changing the speed limit on the Garden State Parkway and other NJ highways people will agree to travel further for a job which will lower unemployment rates."

He told NJ Advance Media on Wednesday, "The roads can easily handle another 10 mph -- proof is that everyone is doing it anyways," he said.

More than 800 people have signed the petition as of about noon on Wednesday.

The debate about whether to raise the speed limit on major New Jersey highways has been ongoing for years. New Jersey is among less than a dozen states to enforce 65 mph speed zones.

In 1998, New Jersey increased the speed limit from 55 mph to 65 mph on certain highways.

In August 2013, Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon, R-Monmouth, called for a re-examination of speed limits on state highways and toll roads based on scientific data.

At the time, he said based on previous traffic studies he believed experts would determine a safe speed for the Turnpike and Parkway would be 70 to 75 mph.

He also discussed the matter last year, proposing that speed limits be based on the speed that 85 percent of traffic is traveling under free-flowing conditions.

Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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