School, playground and crosswalk signs

Two zones, two different limits, two different clocks — this is the pair most often mixed up, and the difference is worth memorizing exactly.

• School zone — 50 km/h, in effect from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on school days, when children are on the roadway or shoulder. If a tab underneath shows only a speed limit, that limit applies over the same hours; if the tab shows both a limit and hours, the tab wins.
• Playground zone — 30 km/h, in effect every day, from dawn to dusk. No school calendar, no clock times: weekends and holidays included.

School zone signs are fluorescent yellow-green so they do not read as ordinary warnings.

Crosswalk signs split the same way by who acts first. At a pedestrian crosswalk you yield to people crossing. At a pedestrian-activated crosswalk, a flashing light means prepare to stop. At a school crosswalk you yield to pedestrians, and where a crossing guard is present you follow their directions — their instruction overrides what the road markings alone would suggest.