During the four years he has been a crossing guard, John Boulding has seen a lot of smiling children, and heard a lot of cursing adults.

"I've had people pull up to the corner and tell me to get the 'eff' out of the way, and tell me I'm an 'effing' idiot for holding them up," said Boulding.

Boulding has one of the toughest and busiest corners for a crossing guard in New Tecumseth, the corner of Church Street South and Albert Street. With several of Alliston Union Public School's students walking to school and back, there is usually a steady stream of children crossing the roads before school starts at 9 a.m., and after school lets out at 3:30 p.m.

This year Nottawasaga OPP is helping the Town of New Tecumseth develop the crossing guard program to make drivers more aware, and children more safe. Part of that plan is instilling into motorists a greater respect for crossing guards.

"They're having difficulty getting the respect they deserve," said Nottawasaga OPP community service officer Melody Tourigny. "The kind of people that are out there doing this (crossing guards) - they're like the traditional postman, rain, snow and sleet..."

One part of the plan is to make the crossing guards more identifiable, with uniforms. Crossing guards are town employees, and this year they have nametags and hats to identify them as such. If Tourigny gets her wish, they will also get full uniforms, including shirts.

While not everyone swears at Boulding, there are others who either don't know the rules, or simply disregard them, he said. Rarely a day goes by without some kind of incident, whether it is someone swearing, or running a stop sign.

For Boulding, the afternoon shift is the most stressful, because of the Honda of Canada shift change. With the heavy traffic flow of people going to and coming from work, one of the most common offenses he sees is illegal turns while he has tried to stop traffic.

"Even though you're standing there with the sign up, they think they can still make their turn, even through they're not supposed to," he said.

Tina O'Neill has been a crossing guard for the last few years, and has worked almost every crosswalk in Alliston. She has also been vocal in raising concerns about some drivers and the lack of respect shown for crossing guards, children's safety, and the law.

This year she is happy the OPP is taking a closer look at the crossing guard situation, but she said she would like to see more done in terms of enforcement.

"We do have good officers in town, we just don't have enough," she said. "I'd like to see more cops (near crosswalks), just so they're visible from 3:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m."

She thinks uniforms could make an impact, but she isn't as convinced about the new bright yellow vests that replaced the traditional orange vests this year. The switch to yellow was made to be more uniform with the OPP, which also use the yellow vests. O'Neill thinks the orange was more visible in the daytime.

Detective Sergeant Tim Melanson is the supervisor for the Nottawasaga OPP Traffic Unit, and he said he is planning for increased patrols when school starts. He is also looking at cracking down on cars that pass school buses when the stop sign is out. He said because of changes to the Highway Traffic Act, they can now press charges with an accurate vehicle description and matching licence plate. In the past drivers had to be identified, making it difficult to press charges. Now, the owner of the vehicle will be charged if it can be positively identified.

As for drivers, the OPP wants them to be more alert and attentive. Tourigny reminded drivers to be aware that many teenagers use cellular phones, and other electronic devices, which can often be distractions.

When approaching crosswalks, reduce speed and prepare to stop. When the crossing guard does walk out, stop, and leave plenty of distance (about three seconds driving time) between the crosswalk and the vehicle.

When pulling up to a stop sign, be sure to stop at the line, and not the end of the curb, because pedestrians could be walking across the street.

Tourigny said the most important thing for drivers and pedestrians alike, it so be aware and alert.

"I think it is a good message for everyone," she said. "You can't just tell the kids, you can't just tell the motorists, and you can't just tell the crossing guards. It's like the old cliché, 'it takes a community to raise a child,' it takes a community to keep a child safe."