Move-in day at Waterloo universities

University students moving in at University of Waterloo on Sunday, September 1, 2013. Photo taken by Nadia Matos/CTV Kitchener.

There’s a lot of unpacking going on at colleges and universities across the country.

Locally it is a weekend for goodbyes and new beginnings as many young people leave home for the first time and head off to college and university.

Many describe this weekend as organized chaos.  Between the two universities about nine thousand 1^st year students are moving in.

Sunday turned out to be an “all hands on deck” kind of day.

Leslie Furness was pleased to see the amount of people helping move the students in.  “It’s great to be greeted like this.” Leslie Furness says.  “My son is going to have a fantastic time.”

About four thousand students will be moving into Wilfrid Laurier over the next two days and at the University of Waterloo that number jumps to about six thousand.

Justin Chan is a Frosh Week Facilitator and he knows exactly how nerve wracking the first day can be.

“One year ago, I was in their shoes and I was the one worried.  It’s nice to be on the other side.”

For students attending the University of Guelph the big day to move in was Saturday.

Roads around the university were closed and families were put on a strict schedule to make the process a little smoother.

The U of G is welcoming about 4800 new students into its residences.

For those moving in to residence in Waterloo, here's a list of temporary street closures:

Traffic will be temporarily redirected on Lester and Spruce streets and the surrounding areas, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 1 and Monday, Sept. 2. The goal is to ease congestion, keep traffic flowing and provide a safe atmosphere during the busy move-in period. The temporary changes are as follows:

Lester Street (Sept. 1, 2)

• Lester Street will be one way, northbound traffic only, from Seagram Drive to Columbia Street West

• No access to Lester Street (south) from University Avenue West

• No access to Lester Street (north) from Columbia Street West

• No left turns onto Columbia Street West from Lester Street (north)

• No left turns onto University Avenue West from Lester Street (south)

• No through traffic from Lester Street (south) across University Avenue West

Spruce Street (Sept. 1 only)

• Spruce Street will be one way from Hickory Street West to Columbia Street West

• No access to Spruce Street from Columbia Street West

Sunview Street (Sept. 1, 2)

• No left turns from University Avenue West to Sunview Street