Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman is calling for a speed limit change on County Road 39 to help ease traffic.

The current speed limit on County Road 39 is 35 mph. Schneiderman blames the frequent traffic standstills on speed reduction from 55 mph to 35 mph at the end of Sunrise Highway.

The town supervisor wants to increase the speed limit along the 4-mile stretch of road from 35 to 45 mph. He says he believes it would ease congestion in the area.

However, Robert Sinclair, of AAA, says Southampton needs to pump the brakes on the idea, citing safety concerns. Some motorists tell News 12 that they think the higher speed limit could contribute to more collisions.

Schneiderman says county traffic engineers believe the higher limit would be safe.

He says legislation would need to be introduced, debated and approved for the change to happen. If passed, Schneiderman says the change could be implemented by July.