Squamish depends on safe, predictable travel on Highway 99 and our connecting arterials. When anything interrupts that sense of order on the road, it is more than a traffic story—it is a community safety concern. A recent report from a local resident who encountered a wrong-way driver has renewed discussion about how we keep each other safe, what’s working on our roads, and where additional attention may be needed.
We are awaiting official information from the Squamish RCMP about this specific incident. In the meantime, the core question for many families, commuters, and business owners here is straightforward: how do we reduce the chance of a wrong-way event and ensure clear, early warnings when it does happen?
Highway 99 is a provincial route managed by the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. Within Squamish, the highway is intersected by several interchanges and busy municipal roads overseen by the District. The Province is responsible for highway signage, pavement markings, and interchange design, and municipal staff manage local road networks that feed into the highway. While wrong-way driving events are uncommon, they are among the most dangerous scenarios motorists can face. That’s why jurisdictions across BC rely on standardized signs like Do Not Enter and Wrong Way, directional arrows on pavement, and reflective or illuminated features in higher-risk locations, all based on national design guidance. The goal is to make the correct path obvious for drivers under a range of conditions—darkness, rain, or heavy traffic—while also giving clear cues to anyone who may be turning the wrong way.
Sea to Sky residents will remember the extensive safety and capacity upgrades completed ahead of the 2010 Olympics. Those improvements straightened sightlines in several areas, added median protection in select segments, widened shoulders, and reworked some interchanges. Since then, the Province, its maintenance contractors, and local governments have continued with routine safety work: repainting lane markings, trimming vegetation to keep signs visible, updating lighting in targeted locations, and replacing damaged or faded signs. This steady maintenance matters. Wrong-way prevention is often about small, layered details—sign placement, sign size, retroreflectivity, arrows on the pavement, the angle of a ramp—working together to catch a driver’s attention before a mistake turns serious.
The District of Squamish has placed a growing emphasis on road safety in neighbourhood planning, school-zone design, and traffic calming on local streets that connect to Highway 99. This complements the Province’s responsibilities on the highway itself. When either level of government receives credible reports of confusing signage or near-misses at a specific location, standard practice is to review the site, consider sightlines and approach speeds, and make adjustments where warranted. That might be as simple as moving a sign to a better spot, installing a larger sign, refreshing pavement arrows, or improving lighting.
Enforcement and education also play a role. Squamish RCMP and provincial partners conduct targeted enforcement on the highway and through town, with added focus during long weekends and seasonal traffic peaks. Provincial campaigns like CounterAttack address impairment, and police continue to remind drivers that distraction and speed remain major factors in serious collisions. While wrong-way incidents are relatively rare, the same principles of safer driving apply: reduce speeds when visibility is poor, follow posted guidance closely, and avoid distractions so that signs and markings don’t get missed in the moment that matters.
Residents often ask what they can do when they see something that doesn’t look right. For immediate hazards—such as a suspected wrong-way driver—the advice is to call 911 when it’s safe to do so, provide location, direction of travel, and a vehicle description if available. For non-emergency concerns like a hard-to-see sign, a confusing turn pocket, or vegetation blocking a sightline, reports can be directed to the Ministry’s regional channels or the District, depending on whether the issue is on the provincial highway or a municipal road. The Province also provides real-time information through DriveBC and shares seasonal updates through TranBC channels, which are helpful resources during weather changes and construction.
Community members have raised thoughtful ideas that are consistent with options used elsewhere in BC and Canada. These include targeted signage audits at interchanges and complex intersections; adding or upsizing Do Not Enter and Wrong Way signs where geometry or lighting makes a turn more challenging; refreshing pavement-direction arrows after winters that can dull markings; and trimming or relocating roadside vegetation that blocks sightlines. In specific locations where data supports the need, agencies sometimes consider additional measures such as reflective delineators, higher-output lighting, or technology that detects wrong-way movements and triggers flashing beacons. Not every tool is appropriate everywhere, but a site-by-site approach based on evidence tends to deliver the best results.
Education is another low-cost, high-impact step. Many of us drive the same routes so often that habits take over. Quick reminders—through school newsletters, employers, community groups, and local media—about carefully reading interchange signage, slowing before unfamiliar turns, and avoiding rushed lane changes near on- and off-ramps can make a tangible difference. For newer drivers in particular, understanding that some Highway 99 ramps require early commitment to the correct lane is an important lesson. In periods of construction or detours, short-term signage and extra lighting can help bridge the gap while patterns change.
From a planning perspective, the conversation here aligns with broader safety goals already on the books. The Province’s highway safety programs emphasize proven countermeasures, and the District of Squamish’s transportation plans prioritize safer connections where local roads meet the highway. Data-driven reviews—using collision histories, near-miss reports, and resident input—are the backbone of these programs. When an incident is reported, even without a collision, it becomes a data point that can trigger closer look at a specific ramp or intersection. That is one reason it’s helpful for residents to share details about where a concern was observed and under what conditions.
For those asking what happens next, we have requested comment from the Squamish RCMP about the recent wrong-way report and from the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure regarding any scheduled or potential signage and marking reviews in the Squamish area. If either agency advises that a location-specific audit or improvement is underway or planned, we will share those updates. In the meantime, residents can continue to report immediate hazards to 911, and non-urgent highway maintenance issues through the Ministry’s regional reporting channels. Municipal concerns on local streets can be directed to the District of Squamish’s customer service portal.
Road safety is a shared responsibility. Serious incidents are prevented not by any single measure, but by the combined effect of clear design, consistent maintenance, firm but fair enforcement, and attentive driving. Squamish has made progress on all of these fronts over the past decade, and community feedback remains a key part of keeping that progress on track. The recent wrong-way report is a reminder to pause, review, and refine—so that our daily trips to work, school, and the grocery store remain as routine as they should be.
We will update readers as soon as official information is available. For verified guidance and the latest on safety measures, residents can refer to the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and DriveBC for provincial routes, the District of Squamish for municipal roads, and the Squamish RCMP for enforcement and incident reporting. If the Province confirms a safety review in the area, we will share the details here.
