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The City’s Public Works and Transportation Department would like to remind residents that starting January 1, 2016, drivers including cyclists, must stop and yield the whole roadway at pedestrian crossovers and at school crossings where there is a crossing guard displaying a school crossing stop sign.

Only when pedestrians and school crossing guards are safely on the sidewalk, can drivers and cyclists proceed.

These rules apply at pedestrian crossovers identified with specific signs, road markings and lights – the new rules do not apply to pedestrian crosswalks at intersections with stop signs or traffic signals, unless a school crossing guard is present.

Drivers and cyclists may be fined $150 to $500 and 3 demerit points for offences at pedestrian crossings, school crossings and at crosswalks where there are traffic signals. Fines will be doubled in community safety zones.

To learn more about this new law and how to stay safe as a pedestrian and as a driver, visit the Ontario Ministry of Transportation website at www.mto.gov.on.ca.

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