Boston readies for the students’ return

 They’re back.

Labor Day weekend marks that time of year when the Boston area is suddenly flooded with new people walking its streets, traveling its subway and spending nights in Faneuil Hall.

That’s because thousands of college students are returning from their summer break and heading back to their dorms or their new apartments. It can be a hectic weekend for many of those students, as well as longtime residents caught in the commotion, but the city says it’s ready for the challenge.

“Move-in weekend is a big weekend for the city of Boston. Mayor [Thomas] Menino has always made it a priority to make sure that students as well as residents are able to move about the city with the least amount of disruption,” said Dot Joyce, a spokeswoman for the mayor.

The city will also deploy more personnel from its public works and inspectional services departments in neighborhoods that receive the greatest influx of returning students, such as Allston-Brighton and Mission Hill. Public works crews will help handle the expected increase in trash and furniture that typically comes with the Sept. 1 turnover.

Like every year, there are always students scrambling to find off-campus housing, but the rising costs of gas, heating oil and food have made some think twice about living in that Allston triple-decker. Though Harvard University and Northeastern University haven’t experienced an increase in on-campus housing requests, others have, such as Boston College, which doesn’t guarantee housing for all four years but is developing an agenda for doing so.

“We’ve seen an increase in interest among students, and that has reinforced our need to proceed with a master plan,” said BC spokesman Jack Dunn.