The new school year is only just now beginning and it’s likely many of our readers have already noticed a dramatic change around town. Not only has the morning and afternoon traffic gone up tremendously, but now we have those big yellow buses to keep an eye out for and plenty of extra pedestrians. During lunchtime, there are plenty of extra cars on the road, too, as high school students take a break from their studies to grab a bite to eat off campus.

Each year, we like to take this opportunity to remind folks to keep a cool head while driving around town and pay extra close attention to your surroundings, especially in school zones.

To help refresh everyone’s memory of “school year safety,” we refer readers to the article on page A1 of this week’s issues. You’ll find several helpful reminders and tips that should help keep everyone safe in the months ahead.

And to our local students: Good luck in the school year ahead. The Times looks forward to sharing all of your accomplishments throughout the 2016-17 academic year, of which we are sure there will be many.