Squamish residents are talking about road safety again after a local resident recently experienced a wrong-way driving incident. While these events are rare, they are high-risk and remind us how quickly everyday travel on Highway 99 and our local roads can change. For families driving to work, school, or the mountains, the question is less about reliving a single moment and more about how we reduce the chance of it happening again.
Highway 99 through Squamish is a provincial corridor managed by the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, while most neighbourhood streets are overseen by the District of Squamish. Enforcement on the highway and within the community involves the Sea to Sky RCMP and BC Highway Patrol. Each has a role to play when something goes wrong, but meaningful prevention also depends on feedback from people who use these roads every day.
Wrong-way driving typically stems from a few familiar factors: confusion at complex ramps, poor visibility during dark or wet conditions, and impaired or distracted driving. Officials in BC regularly flag impairment, speed, and distraction as leading contributors to serious crashes across the province. The Sea to Sky corridor adds its own challenges—seasonal tourism, weekend peaks, long stretches between exits, and a mix of local and visitor traffic that isn’t always familiar with the area.
The Ministry has invested in a range of measures along Highway 99 over the years, including centreline and shoulder rumble strips, improved reflectivity for lane markings, median barriers in select sections, and larger guide signs as part of broader highway upgrades. At interchanges, drivers will usually see “Do Not Enter” and “Wrong Way” signs, directional arrows on pavement, and reflective delineators intended to prevent a driver from turning the wrong direction onto a high-speed facility. These are standard tools used around BC and in many cases are effective. But as Squamish grows and traffic patterns shift, routine reviews help ensure the measures at each ramp and intersection still match how people actually drive them today.
Local conversations after the recent incident have focused on a few practical questions. Are the “Do Not Enter” and “Wrong Way” signs at highway access points large and bright enough at night and in heavy rain? Do pavement arrows wear down faster at certain locations? Is vegetation, lighting, or the angle of an approach making it harder to read the road quickly? These are issues that can be checked and, if needed, improved without waiting for a major construction project.
On the enforcement and education side, the Sea to Sky RCMP and BC Highway Patrol run targeted traffic operations throughout the year. Province-wide CounterAttack campaigns focus on impaired driving, while local officers frequently conduct speed and distracted-driving enforcement along Highway 99 and in town. Police also encourage drivers who encounter a suspected wrong-way vehicle to prioritize safety first: do not attempt to intervene, create space by moving right or exiting if safe to do so, and call 911 with your location and travel direction as soon as you can do so safely. That guidance helps dispatchers alert other motorists and coordinate a fast response.
For the District, community input is an important early warning system. If residents flag a confusing or poorly lit approach to the highway, staff can assess sightlines, sign placement, or pavement markings and coordinate with the Ministry where provincial infrastructure is involved. This is how smaller, quicker fixes—such as adding a second sign, upgrading to higher-reflectivity materials, trimming vegetation, or refreshing arrows—can move ahead while larger projects are evaluated.
There are also evidence-based tools used elsewhere in BC and Canada that could be considered here if warranted by site conditions and data. These include oversize “Do Not Enter” and “Wrong Way” signs with high-intensity retroreflective sheeting; supplemental red-backed wrong-way markers at driver eye level; additional arrows or channelization to guide correct turns; improved ramp lighting; and wrong-way detection systems that activate flashing beacons or alert traffic operations centres when a vehicle enters an exit ramp. None of these are one-size-fits-all, but they are proven options planners draw from when a pattern of driver error emerges at a specific location.
Community organizations and road-safety advocates often stress the human side of prevention as well. Visitor-facing reminders—at hotels, trailheads, and rental outlets—can help newcomers understand local highway access points, especially where ramps or frontage roads look similar. Employers can reinforce safe-driving practices for shift workers heading out before sunrise or returning late at night. And parents and caregivers can model simple habits that matter on higher-speed roads: reducing distractions in the cabin, building extra time into trips during bad weather, and scanning for guide signs early at interchanges.
Data and follow-through remain key. When traffic patterns are changing—as they are in Squamish due to ongoing growth and tourism—periodic collision and near-miss reviews help identify where the risk is creeping up, not just where crashes have already occurred. The Ministry maintains responsibility for highway operations and, in coordination with its maintenance contractor, can review signage, markings, and lighting on Highway 99. The District, for its part, can look at the local road approaches that feed into the highway and adjust municipal signage or geometry where appropriate. When these reviews are paired with targeted enforcement and practical outreach, communities tend to see fewer severe incidents.
Residents who have observations about specific ramps or approaches can support this work by sharing precise details: the location, time of day, weather conditions, and what made the movement confusing. Clear, location-based notes allow engineers to visit the site under similar conditions and see what drivers are seeing. Reports can be directed to the District of Squamish for municipal roads and to the Ministry’s regional contacts for provincial highway concerns. For immediate hazards on Highway 99—such as a wrong-way vehicle in progress—calling 911 remains the right first step.
As of publication, official comment specific to the recent wrong-way incident is pending from the Sea to Sky RCMP and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. We have requested updates on any enforcement follow-up and on whether a signage or infrastructure review is planned for nearby access points. We will share confirmed information as it becomes available.
In the meantime, the takeaway for Squamish is straightforward. Our community has the tools to reduce the risk of rare but serious road events: attentive driving, prompt reporting, evidence-based engineering fixes, and steady enforcement. When each partner—drivers, the District, the Province, and police—does their piece, the result is a corridor that is safer for commuters, school runs, and weekend trips alike.
For road-safety updates and advisories, residents can check DriveBC for highway conditions, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure for project and maintenance information, the District of Squamish newsroom for local traffic changes, and the Sea to Sky RCMP channels for enforcement initiatives and public-safety notices. If the Ministry confirms that the area connected to the recent report is being reviewed for safety improvements, we will provide those details here.
