Kids are heading back to school this week and that also means that school zones here in Cochrane are back in effect.

Vern Burkholder, Community Peace Officer for the Town of Cochrane gives a quick rundown of things to remember for school zones. “School zones are 30 kilometers an hour, just like most residential streets are in Cochrane right now. There's no parking within five meters of a crosswalk and pedestrians have the right away at crosswalks, whether they're marked or unmarked.”

“Just make sure that we pay attention so children can get across safely. Not parking where there's no parking so that we don't interrupt traffic flow.”

Even with the staggered entries into schools this week, Burkholder says that there will still be lots of pedestrians. “I understand some of the schools are staggering the admittance of children so that not all of them will be there at the same time but over the first three days of school, you know,  there is going to be a lot of children out. It’s going to be the new norm for everybody. Children on the sidewalks and crossing the roads, school busses, and congestion."

In Cochrane, school zones are in effect during school days between the hours of 7 am and 9 pm.