Barnegat Township man's petition for more Parkway police coverage tops 1,000 signatures

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An Ocean County man’s petition for more police coverage on the Garden State Parkway has topped 1,000 signatures. It comes as four people were killed last week on the toll road in two separate incidents. “I was nearly killed in a situation where a guy cut me off and forced me to the shoulder,” said Jim Symbouras, who started the petition for more Parkway policing . It was this incident that led to the Barnegat Township man to start an online petition just over a year ago, calling for more police to slow down drivers and help prevent deadly and devastating crashes. “It’s your No. 1 complaint you deal with is traffic concerns of residents,” said Wall Township Police Chief Sean O’Halloran. O’Halloran blames the aggression on the population increase, along with soft penalties. “I think there needs to be stronger punishment on traffic violations. There needs to be consequences for your actions,” said Chief O’Halloran. State police tell News 12 the Parkway has three established road stations where on-duty patrols actively watch for and target carless, reckless and impaired drivers. According to New Jersey State Police records, 15 people have died on the Parkway this year, up from last year, but down from a particularly deadly 2022. This year is on track to see lower Parkway fatalities than the recent average of 25 per year. “That is too much. In my opinion, one is too much. There was a family killed the other day,” added Symbouras. Although New Jersey State Police tell News 12 there is adequate coverage on the parkway, some drivers at the Judy Blume Rest Stop said they agree with Symbouras that more work is needed. “Not enough, you need more police patrols because traffic has increased and these new cars can really fly,” said John, from Toms River. “I’ve actually witnessed a car accident in front of my car, a very bad one, too. Car swerved into the incoming traffic on the parkway, so it was pretty bad,” said Rich Rodriguez, of Perth Amboy. Symbouras plans on sending his petition with more than 1,000 signatures to the governor and anyone who will listen. “Any day I get on the Parkway, I say a prayer, literally,” he said. "