Reports of a wrong-way driver near a Highway 99 access point in Squamish have renewed a familiar conversation in town: how we keep people safe on a corridor that carries local traffic, commercial vehicles, and visitors through changing weather and complex intersections. While we are awaiting official details about the recent incident, the community response has been consistent — residents want to know whether signage, lighting, and driver awareness are keeping pace with the growth and year-round demand on the Sea to Sky.
Highway 99 is a provincial route managed by the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, with day-to-day conditions and alerts posted on DriveBC. The Sea to Sky section is built to provincial standards and uses a range of countermeasures intended to reduce serious collisions, including reflective markers, rumble strips in many locations, median barriers on higher-risk segments, and variable speed limit systems between Squamish and Whistler that adjust to weather and traffic. Entry and exit points are signed with the standard red “Do Not Enter” and “Wrong Way” signs used across British Columbia and elsewhere in Canada under national traffic control guidelines. Even with these layers of protection, wrong-way driving is a rare but high-consequence event, which is why it draws immediate concern when residents see or experience it here at home.
Local police treat any wrong-way report as an emergency. The Squamish RCMP and Sea to Sky Traffic Services routinely encourage drivers to call 911 right away if they witness dangerous driving and can do so safely. Timely reporting helps dispatchers alert responding officers and, when needed, highway maintenance crews. Police and road-safety advocates also point out that wrong-way incidents can be linked to a mix of factors — driver impairment, distraction, unfamiliarity with the area, low visibility, and confusing cues at night or in poor weather among them — which means solutions often span design, enforcement, and education.
Design and maintenance are the first line of defence. At highway ramps, standard practice in BC includes “Do Not Enter” and “Wrong Way” signs placed where oncoming drivers will see them, reinforced by pavement arrows, edge lines, and reflectors. In locations with complex geometry or a history of driver confusion, transportation agencies may add larger or lower-mounted reflective signs, supplemental lighting, or enhanced pavement markings to make the intended path more obvious. If you believe a specific ramp or access point into or out of Squamish is unclear, you can raise that directly with the Ministry or the Sea to Sky highway maintenance contractor through the “Report a Highway Problem” link on DriveBC. The District of Squamish can receive feedback about municipal roads, but changes on Highway 99 fall under provincial jurisdiction.
Enforcement remains a visible piece of the safety puzzle, especially during the holidays and ski season. The RCMP’s CounterAttack program runs throughout the province in winter and summer to deter impaired driving, and local officers conduct targeted speed and impaired driving enforcement along the corridor. These initiatives are supported by ICBC and provincial partners who emphasize that impairment — whether by alcohol, drugs, or fatigue — remains a significant risk factor on BC roads. When combined with winter conditions, visibility challenges, and heavy weekend traffic to and from the mountains, the margin for error narrows.
Education rounds out the picture. The Winter Driving Safety Alliance’s Shift Into Winter campaign provides practical guidance on preparing your vehicle, planning trips, and adjusting to conditions. On most BC highways, including Highway 99 north of Horseshoe Bay, winter tires are required from October 1 through April 30. That requirement reflects the reality that mountain weather changes quickly; a clear afternoon in town can turn to blowing snow, ice, or freezing rain a few kilometres up the road. Environment and Climate Change Canada frequently issues advisories and warnings for the Sea to Sky during active weather, and those alerts are a helpful prompt to slow down, increase following distance, and build extra time into any trip. DriveBC offers real-time camera feeds and road condition updates that are worth checking before you set out and again before you return.
The recent wrong-way report highlights some specific questions residents have raised before: Are the “Do Not Enter” and “Wrong Way” signs at local ramps large and bright enough at night and in the rain? Are pavement arrows and lane lines still crisp after a long construction season and heavy traffic? Is there adequate overhead or ramp lighting where drivers make quick decisions? Are temporary traffic control setups — such as detours for utility or development work — leaving any gaps or creating ambiguity? These are all reasonable inquiries, and they underscore the value of regular, on-the-ground reviews by the Ministry and its maintenance contractor, especially after the first rounds of winter storms.
It is also worth acknowledging how driver workload has changed in Squamish. We now navigate a mix of new neighbourhood streets, busy commercial driveways, multi-use pathways, and Highway 99 access in quick succession. Visitors unfamiliar with local patterns may rely heavily on navigation apps that don’t always match current detours or short-term lane changes. Small design choices — an extra reflective tab on a signpost, a refreshed pavement arrow, or additional delineators at the edge of a gore area — can reduce hesitation and prevent the rare but dangerous wrong turn. Those small improvements tend to be most effective when they are informed by local observations and reported promptly to the agencies responsible.
If you encounter a wrong-way vehicle, police ask that you treat it as an emergency: reduce speed, create space from other vehicles, find a safe place to pull over if needed, and call 911 with the best location details you can provide (direction of travel, nearest interchange, and vehicle description if it is safe to note). If you drive at dawn, dusk, or during storms, turning on headlights early, reducing speed near interchanges, and making a deliberate shoulder check for directional signage when joining the highway are simple habits that can make a meaningful difference. For trip planning and updates, DriveBC.ca remains the primary source for provincial highway conditions and incidents, and ShiftIntoWinter.ca offers seasonal safety resources for drivers, riders, and employers.
We have asked the Squamish RCMP and the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure whether any investigation or signage review is underway related to the reported wrong-way incident near town. Official comment is pending. We will share updates as they are confirmed and will include any planned safety changes that result.
In the meantime, residents who believe a specific location needs attention can submit observations to the Ministry through DriveBC’s “Report a Highway Problem” page, and to the District for municipal streets. Construction-related traffic control questions can also be directed to the District’s engineering team when the work is on local roads. The more precise the information — time of day, direction, weather, and exactly where a driver might become confused — the easier it is for engineers and maintenance crews to respond.
Our community cares about safe travel, whether we’re heading to school, commuting to the city, or making a weekend run to the hill. The wrong-way report is an important reminder that safety is shared: provincial agencies maintain the highway, police enforce the rules, and residents provide the local insight that helps fine-tune what people see on the ground. With winter now fully here, it is a good time to check your tires, revisit the basics from Shift Into Winter, and make a habit of scanning signage at ramps. If adjustments are needed at a particular access point, local voices can help move those improvements forward.
For the latest on road conditions and incidents, visit DriveBC.ca. For winter driving guidance, see ShiftIntoWinter.ca. Weather advisories are available from Environment and Climate Change Canada. We will update readers as soon as the RCMP or the Ministry confirm next steps related to the reported incident. If a formal review is initiated, we will share what improvements are being considered and how residents can provide input.
