The Town of Rocky Mountain House’s three community peace officers and bylaw officer will be present in the community enforcing rules ahead of a busy Labour Day long weekend and back to school season.

Officers will be enforcing all aspects of the Traffic Safety Act, says Brandon Smailes, senior peace officer. That includes speed, seatbelts, stop signs, playground zones, yielding to pedestrians at crosswalks, among others.

Along with law enforcement, officers will be having a little fun in the community as well at Rocky’s Alberta Day celebration Aug. 31.

Residents are invited to drop by the Lou Soppit Community on Saturday to put their hand print on a community patrol cruiser, says Smailes.

Alberta Day organizer and chair of the Community Events Committee, Tina Hutchinson says the handprint activity comes with the tagline ‘It takes many hands to build a community.’

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READ MORE: Alberta Day celebrations planned for Aug. 31 in Rocky Mountain House

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As students head back to classes Sept. 2, Smailes says community peace officers will have a presence ensuring everyone gets to class safely.

“I’ve adjusted our shifts for the first week of school, so we’ll be out at 7:30 a.m. to make sure we’re out in all the school and playground zones around town,” says Smailes.

Tickets for traffic violations around school and playground zones are especially pricey, he adds.

Smailes notes there is a high level of student pedestrians, particularly at Lochearn, Ecole Rocky Elementary and Pioneer, and it’s sometimes all too easy for drivers to forget good safety habits during the summer when the students are away.

School zones begin at 8 a.m., says Smailes, with playground zones at 8:30 a.m. to sunset. Speed limits are posted at 30 km/h.

While peace officers will use the proverbial ‘stick’ to enforce the rules, it will also be using the ‘carrot’ as well.

“We’ve got our ‘positive ticket’ program going on,” says Smailes. “If kids are wearing their helmets, or using the crosswalks or helping their parents do random jobs, we’re handing out those positive tickets.”

Positive tickets can be exchanged at Rocky Mountain House Town office for a special prize, says Smailes, and the Town is also planning a ‘positive ticket’ wrap-up BBQ and celebration at the end of fall.

For any safety-related concerns, residents can call the Protective Services complaint line at 403-846-4268.