Hundreds of thousands of kids are going back to school Tuesday, some for the very first time, as police warn motorists to take an extra moment for all the additional pedestrians and cyclists on the roads this morning.
All four public school boards operating in Toronto and the GTA get underway Tuesday morning, with 250,000 kids from kindergarten to grade 12 heading to class in Toronto alone.
All those kids on the move mean additional traffic.
“All road users need to consider the safety of our most vulnerable users – school children, pedestrians, and cyclists, when they are travelling on our roads,” Toronto police said Tuesday.
They say they are on the lookout this week for drivers who park illegally, speed, use their phones or behave aggressively around schools.
“This campaign is about ‘no tolerance’ for violations, but also about asking you to commit to changing bad driving habits,” police say.
At Samuel Hearne Middle School in Scarborough, Principal Joe Romano said he was excited for kids to make their way through the halls once again.
"I am feeling like today is a busy day – a great day, an experience for all of our staff as well as Oakridge next door, to get to know everyone."
He said parents and students need to know that the school is ready to help them with whatever they need.
"There’s always a caring adult in our building. There is always someone is there who is always wanting to do something positive."
GO Transit and the TTC both ask commuters to take extra time when out on their trips today to make way for the additional passengers using both systems for the first time in two months today.
GO spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins says several new train routes are launching today to and from Union Station.
After a summer of making changes to the math curriculum, sex-education, class sizes and requirements for incoming teachers, Education Minister Stephen Lecce heralded the start of the new school year.
“I just want to give a shout out to our educators, our support workers who are doing incredible work to support young people,” the minister said live on CP24 Tuesday.
Education support workers and high school teachers in the province are returning to the classroom without a collective bargaining contract, as their last agreement expired on Aug. 31.
“Historically I can’t recall a scenario, regrettably, where a deal was landed before (Aug. 31),” Lecce said.
He later added that talks have been positive at the negotiating table.
“I think we’re doing it in good faith – know we are working very hard to deliver the deal that every single party involved deserves.
