Many of us rely on Highway 99 several times a day for school runs, work, and weekend plans. When something goes wrong on that corridor, it reverberates across Squamish households. A local resident recently experienced a wrong-way driving incident, and while details are still being confirmed by authorities, the report has renewed a practical question for our community: are we doing everything we can—individually and collectively—to prevent high-risk mistakes on and around the highway?
Highway 99 is a provincial route managed by the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. Through Squamish, it carries a complicated mix of local traffic, out-of-town visitors bound for parks and resorts, freight, and service vehicles. Conditions can change in minutes with weather, construction, or congestion. Over the past decade, the Ministry has invested in corridor improvements, including targeted safety projects, rockfall protection in key locations, and technology such as variable speed limit systems on sections of Highway 99 in the Sea to Sky. Those measures are designed to reduce serious collisions, but they don’t eliminate the need for clear wayfinding, consistent signage, and alert driving at every access point.
Wrong-way driving is uncommon but dangerous. It can occur when a driver turns into oncoming lanes from a side road, misreads a directional sign at night or in poor weather, or becomes disoriented at a complex intersection or highway entrance. In Squamish, most movements onto Highway 99 happen at signalized intersections rather than free‑flow interchanges, which helps, but the risk isn’t zero—especially in darker winter months, at construction detours, or where multiple commercial driveways are close to the highway. The local report is a timely reminder to check whether entry points are as clear as they can be—for residents, professional drivers, and visitors who may be unfamiliar with the area.
BC Highway Patrol and Squamish RCMP routinely conduct enforcement on Highway 99 for speed, impaired, and distracted driving, and participate in province‑wide initiatives such as CounterAttack and seasonal road safety campaigns. Those efforts are part of the BC Road Safety Strategy’s shared goal of reducing fatalities and serious injuries. At the same time, engineering and education matter. The Ministry and municipalities across BC use the Transportation Association of Canada’s design and signage standards to place “Do Not Enter” and “Wrong Way” signs where they’re needed, refresh pavement arrows and directional markings, and improve lighting and visibility at higher‑risk approaches.
Local knowledge can help target those improvements. Residents regularly navigate the same turns and can spot where visibility is compromised, where signs are partially blocked by vegetation, or where lane delineation fades more quickly. If you’ve noticed a location where drivers seem uncertain about which way to turn, reporting it can be useful. Highway 99 items fall under the Ministry’s jurisdiction; issues on municipal roads can be directed to the District of Squamish. Maintenance contractors can address sightlines and faded markings, while the Ministry’s engineers can review whether additional devices—larger “Do Not Enter” panels, enhanced reflective sheeting, pavement arrows, or supplemental arrows on the back of signals—would reduce confusion.
The tourism cycle is another factor. Through spring and summer, parking lots near trailheads and water access see heavier turn‑over. Visitors leaving a lot or a side street that meets the highway may be doing so for the first time. Wayfinding aimed at locals—small, familiar cues—may not stand out enough to a first‑time driver at dusk or in rain. The clearer the visual cues at the decision point, the lower the chance of a wrong move. That is why basic measures, like ensuring wrong‑way signs are at drivers’ eye level and retroreflective, and that pavement arrows are renewed before the peak season, are worth attention each year.
Technology plays a role, but it has limits. Variable speed limits can slow the corridor when weather changes or congestion builds, reducing crash severity. Dynamic message signs can warn of incidents ahead. However, wrong-way driving tends to be a very local problem—resolved by legible geometry and unmistakable cues at the exact turn or ramp where a driver chooses a path. In some parts of BC, agencies have piloted enhanced signage, rumble strips at ramp terminals, or higher‑visibility treatments to catch a driver’s attention. Whether those tools suit a given location on Highway 99 depends on the setting and the standards in place.
Enforcement and education remain essential. RCMP and BC Highway Patrol typically advise that if you encounter a suspected wrong‑way driver, do not try to intervene directly. Safely reduce speed, increase space around your vehicle, move right if you can do so without risk, and report immediately by calling 911 with the location, direction of travel, and vehicle description. That guidance reflects the high risk of head‑on collisions and the need for a rapid police response. It also underlines each driver’s role in keeping the corridor safe: minimizing distractions, keeping headlights and windshields clean in poor weather, and approaching complex junctions ready to pause and verify the turn.
Administration and advocacy matter too. While the highway itself is provincial, the District of Squamish can and does raise corridor issues with the Ministry. Residents who want to see a particular location reviewed can share observations with the District and the Ministry, adding detail such as time of day, weather, and what made the movement confusing. Cumulative input helps transportation staff understand patterns and weigh cost‑effective fixes. A short‑term step could be a maintenance request to restore a sign’s visibility; a longer‑term action could be a targeted road safety review by provincial engineers to audit signing, sightlines, and markings at a cluster of intersections.
There is also room for community‑led awareness. Many BC communities, often with RCMP support, use seasonal outreach to reinforce basic habits: yielding correctly at highway entries, avoiding last‑second lane changes near signals, and planning turns in advance. Locally tailored reminders—for example, how to approach a specific highway junction or where to expect left‑turn lanes to end—can make a difference when traffic surges on weekends. As Squamish grows, simple orientation for new residents and visitors could complement engineering changes and policing.
It’s worth acknowledging that the Sea to Sky corridor has seen significant safety progress since major upgrades ahead of the 2010 Winter Games. The road is wider and straighter in many places, with improved shoulders and better protection from falling rock. Even so, collisions still happen, often tied to speed, weather, impairment, distraction, or a split‑second decision at an intersection. Wrong‑way incidents are a distinct subset that engineering can help prevent, and that driver attention can help avoid.
We have asked Squamish RCMP and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure for information about the recent local report and whether any specific highway approaches in or near town are slated for a signage or markings review. As of publication, official comment is pending. We will update readers as soon as details are confirmed or new safety steps are announced.
In the meantime, if you spot a sign that’s hard to see, a lane marking that has faded, or a location where drivers appear uncertain about direction, you can contact the Ministry’s local maintenance contractor through the Ministry’s service request channels, and copy the District of Squamish if the issue is near a municipal intersection. For real‑time highway conditions and incident alerts, DriveBC remains the province’s primary source. For enforcement or to report dangerous driving, call 911 or the Squamish RCMP non‑emergency line when appropriate.
Road safety on Highway 99 is a shared effort. Clear cues at decision points, attentive driving, steady enforcement, and timely maintenance all add up. If additional measures are proposed for local highway access points, we will share them here so residents can weigh in. Until then, a little extra caution at familiar turns, and an eye for what could be clearer for newcomers, will help keep everyone moving safely.
For updates on any confirmed safety reviews or changes on Highway 99, please refer to the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and DriveBC. We will publish new information as soon as it becomes available.
