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'devastating crashes': a sense of urgency cited for increased median dividers along b.c.'s sea to sky corridor
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the family of the victims of a recent head-on collision on the sea to sky highway are among the growing number of people calling for barriers to divide north and southbound traffic along the busy corridor.
ronnie tessler’s son and grandson were in the vehicle that was hit last sunday by another driver who appears to have crossed the highway’s centre line near daisy lake road, north of squamish.
her grandson has now been released from hospital. her son had 11 hours of surgery for multiple fractures.
“fortunately for both, there were no head or internal injuries, but the repercussions from the surgery and the accident will be felt for a long time,” tessler said.
traffic on the busy sea to sky — and multiple accidents over the years — have sparked concerns that parts of the highway don’t have a barrier to prevent head-on collisions.
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the improvements made to the highway before the 2010 winter olympics were a marvel, she said, “but did not go far enough, considering how many devastating crashes still occur.”
the popular, twisty highway cuts through narrow terrain, past the ocean, rocky outcrops and several communities, and is the primary route connecting vancouver to whistler. the road, also known as highway 99, was widened and upgraded for the games, but vast stretches of it don’t have barriers dividing opposing traffic.
in 2017, medians were added to a 1.4-kilometre stretch of the highway near lions bay costing $800,000, which the province said at the time would “improve safety on this busy stretch of highway 99 by preventing head-on collisions and other crossover accidents.”
a vehicle jumped a road divider and crashed into on oncoming truck just north of lions bay on dec. 28, 2014.
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icbc statistics provided to postmedia news show a gradual increase of accidents on the vancouver to whistler stretch of the sea to sky highway: from 156 in 2021 to 167 in 2024. in each of those four years, roughly half of the collisions involved injuries or fatalities.
ensuring the entire vancouver-whistler route has medians would be a fast and low-cost solution to reduce head-on collisions caused by cars that lose control due to speed or weather conditions, said matthew paugh, a squamish resident and highway-safety advocate.
“it’s boggled my mind for the 19 years i’ve lived out here that it doesn’t have that barrier just to keep (head-on collisions) from happening,” said paugh, operations manager of a local transportation company and the administrator of the sea to sky road conditions facebook site.
paugh launched a petition in 2023, now signed by 4,700 people, calling for other safety changes, including improved speed enforcement and communication about closures on the highway. he took that step in response to a serious collision near britannia beach that shut the road down for multiple hours in 2023, impacting not just the accident victims but some of the stranded motorists.
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on his facebook site, diabetics trapped on the highway were pleading for insulin. worried parents had run out of baby formula. senior citizens couldn’t get home to take their medication.
jehan jiwa in hospital after a 2023 car accident that left her with multiple fractures. submitted photo
jehan jiwa was the innocent victim of a 2023 head-on collision near britannia beach, leaving her with a long list of extensive injuries from which she is still recovering today.
“i absolutely support the need for dividers across the entire highway,” the burnaby resident said. “the other driver (in her accident) lost control of his vehicle and came into oncoming traffic. the only thing that could’ve prevented that would have been a divider. he would’ve hit the divider instead of us and we would’ve either escaped unharmed or minimally harmed.”
squamish mayor armand hurford said his city council has asked the province to invest in more highway upgrades.
“highway 99 is a critical lifeline for squamish residents as the only road in and out of the community. improvements that would save lives and reduce long highway closures should be prioritized given the significant volume of traffic that travels this highway every day,” hurford said.
the transportation ministry didn’t respond to queries about highway upgrades, including barriers, before deadline.
the vehicle jehan jiwa was travelling in after it was struck head-on by another driver on the sea to sky highway south of squamish. photo: mebs jiwa
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green mla jeremy valeriote, whose riding includes this stretch of highway, posted on instagram that he was praying for the recovery of the people injured on sunday. he also posted: “it’s well past time for more and better enforcement and communication, and (police traffic analysis) resources based in squamish. i will be asking minister of transportation mike farnworth to act with urgency during budget estimates this spring.”
valeriote and paugh believe a member of the rcmp’s accident reconstruction team known as icars team should be stationed in squamish, to more quickly respond to accidents on the highway. the surrey-based unit has 20 officers who respond to 200 calls a year, the rcmp website says.
heavy snow on the sea-to-sky highway can leave motorists stuck, which is worse when an accident closes the highway in both directions.
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in an email, rcmp staff sgt. kris clark said a reconstruction expert reached sunday’s accident in less than 30 minutes: “i am confident that the current distribution of icars resources neither impacted response times, nor the length of the closure in this most recent crash.”
this highway is given a “priority response” by police during accident investigations, clark said, because closures significantly impact motorists when there are limited alternative routes to reach squamish, whistler or pemberton from vancouver.
rcmp investigate a deadly collision between two motorcycles and two vehicles on the sea to sky highway in 20026. after the highway was improved before the 2010 olympics, some observers say the upgrades didn’t go far enough considering how many devastating crashes still occur.
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rafal gerszak, 24 hours vancouve
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“the need for a comprehensive and complete criminal investigation will always be our priority. however, we will expedite the reopening of highways, where possible, as long as it does not compromise the evidence,” he added.
since icbc introduced no-fault insurance in 2021, stranded motorists have asked on social media why it’s still necessary for accident investigations to take so long.
in an email to postmedia, an icbc spokesperson said it’s still important to determine crash responsibility at an accident scene because, while fault doesn’t affect access to recovery benefits, it can lead to higher insurance premiums and fines for the driver who caused the accident.
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