Many Squamish residents travel Highway 99 every day for work, school, errands, and recreation. When something unusual happens on that route—like reports of a driver travelling the wrong way—it quickly becomes more than a one-off scare. It’s a reminder that the Sea to Sky corridor is a complex, high-volume highway where small mistakes can carry big consequences, and where design, signage, and driver awareness all matter.
A local resident recently experienced a wrong-way driving incident on the Highway 99 corridor near Squamish. While we are not recounting the individual’s actions or step-by-step details, the report has prompted renewed community conversation about how our highway is signed, how wayfinding works at access points, and what we can all do to prevent similar near-misses. We have requested official comment from RCMP Sea to Sky Traffic Services and the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MoTI) regarding the report and whether a location-specific review is planned; we will share updates when they are confirmed.
Highway 99 is both a regional lifeline and a destination route, carrying commuters, commercial vehicles, and visitors. The highway saw significant upgrades in advance of the 2010 Winter Olympics, including median barriers in select sections, added lighting, improved alignment in certain areas, rumble strips, and new signage. Those improvements reduced some risks, but the corridor remains a mix of divided and undivided segments, with at-grade intersections, commercial access points, and frequent speed transitions. That mix can create moments of uncertainty—especially in low light, winter weather, or for drivers unfamiliar with the area.
Wrong-way driving incidents are uncommon across British Columbia, but they are high-risk when they happen. Provincial standards require “Do Not Enter” and “Wrong Way” signs at highway ramp terminals and other conflict points. MoTI also uses pavement arrows, directional lane markings, median islands, rumble strips, and reflective delineators to guide drivers into the correct lanes. These measures are part of a broader set of tools commonly used province-wide to reduce driver error, along with periodic maintenance to keep signs visible and reflective at night and in wet conditions. If a specific location is identified as confusing or prone to errors, engineers can consider additional treatments such as larger or supplementary “Wrong Way” and “Keep Right” signage, improved lighting, enhanced pavement markings, or geometric changes that physically prevent incorrect turns.
Local residents often have a strong sense of the places where confusion can happen—such as complex intersections, angled driveways, or areas where lane count and speed change quickly. If you’ve noticed a spot that seems unclear, raising it through the proper channels helps. For locations on Highway 99, MoTI is the lead authority; the District of Squamish can also pass along concerns and local knowledge to the province. Documenting what you saw (time of day, weather, direction of travel, and specific landmarks) can be helpful to engineers and maintenance contractors when they assess whether additional measures are needed.
Enforcement remains a key part of safety on the Sea to Sky corridor. RCMP Sea to Sky Traffic Services routinely conducts patrols and targeted operations focused on speed, impairment, distraction, and unsafe passing—behaviours that contribute to serious collisions. Throughout the year, police also participate in provincial road-safety campaigns, including seasonal CounterAttack initiatives to deter impaired driving. While enforcement alone can’t prevent a wrong-way incident that stems from a moment of confusion, quick reporting can help officers locate and assist a driver before an error becomes a crash.
If you encounter a suspected wrong-way driver, the guidance from police and public safety agencies is straightforward: reduce speed, move to the right as safely as possible, avoid sudden lane changes that could surprise other road users, and call 911 when it’s safe to do so. Clear details—direction of travel, nearest cross street or landmark, vehicle description—help dispatch route police quickly. Even if the situation resolves before officers arrive, the report can inform future patrols and flag a location for a safety review.
Seasonal conditions on Highway 99 add another layer of risk. Winter brings extended darkness, glare from oncoming lights in rain and snow, and changing traction. Those factors can make lane markings and signs harder to read. MoTI and its maintenance contractors clear snow, sand and salt, and refresh markings, but visibility still varies with weather and wear. Slowing a bit sooner for speed reductions, keeping windshields and headlights clean, and taking extra care entering and exiting the highway can make a difference. For visitors or newer drivers, using navigation with lane guidance and setting a route before departure can reduce last-second decisions at interchanges or access points.
Beyond individual driving habits, design details matter. Traffic engineers typically look at three questions after a report of confusion at a location: Is the decision point too close to a curve, hill, or other visual clutter? Are signs placed where a driver naturally looks, at the right height and distance, with the right size and reflectivity? And do pavement arrows, medians, and channelized islands make the intended path obvious in day and night conditions? Answering those questions can lead to practical fixes such as relocating or upsizing signs, adding supplemental “Wrong Way” or “Do Not Enter” plaques, installing LED-enhanced signs at high-risk points, improving lighting, or reconfiguring paint and curbs so the correct lane choice is the only intuitive choice.
Data helps guide those decisions. The province and ICBC both track collisions and near-miss indicators, and ICBC’s online crash map allows the public to see where reported crashes cluster. While the presence of collisions doesn’t automatically mean signage is at fault, it can highlight where more study may be needed. As with any data set, recent changes (new development, adjusted speed limits, or refreshed markings) can take time to show up in trends, which is why local observations and timely reporting are valuable inputs alongside formal statistics.
Community groups in Squamish have long pressed for a safe and predictable Highway 99 experience that works for families, commuters, and visitors. That conversation often includes speed compliance, safe passing culture, and better protection at pedestrian and cycling crossings that connect neighbourhoods to services and trails. A wrong-way report adds another practical question to the list: are there specific access points or transitions where it’s too easy to make the wrong choice? If so, signage, markings, and geometry can be tuned to reduce that risk without slowing the entire corridor to a crawl.
As this discussion moves forward, residents can take a few constructive steps. If you experienced or witnessed a wrong-way situation, file a report with police, even if no collision occurred—details may guide patrols and engineering reviews. If you believe a particular location is confusing, share your observations with the District of Squamish and MoTI. If you’re part of a neighbourhood association or parent council, consider gathering input from members about challenging access points and forwarding a summary to the province. And if you’re a frequent driver on Highway 99, make a habit of scanning for lane arrows and overhead cues earlier than usual, especially at night and in poor weather.
We have asked RCMP Sea to Sky Traffic Services whether they responded to any wrong-way reports associated with this recent incident and whether they have specific guidance for drivers in our area; their response is pending. We have also asked MoTI if any location-specific signage or design reviews are underway or planned in the Squamish section of Highway 99. We will share their answers as soon as they are available.
For official information and updates, residents can monitor DriveBC for highway conditions and advisories, consult the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure for project and safety information, and contact RCMP Sea to Sky Traffic Services for enforcement-related inquiries. If you have immediate concerns about a dangerous situation on the highway, call 911. If you have non-emergency feedback about signs or markings, contact MoTI through its regional office and advise the District of Squamish so local staff can track community concerns. Squamish Blog will continue to follow this topic and report on any confirmed safety reviews or improvements on Highway 99 through our community.
