I am writing as a concerned Squamish resident to raise ongoing — and now escalating — safety concerns regarding the 100-metre stretch of Clarke and Behrner Drive between Guilford Drive and the main hospital entrance. This section borders the parking lot used by hospital staff and visitors, commuters, and occasional overnight vehicles.
As someone who regularly walks and cycles this route, I have witnessed increasingly dangerous interactions between vehicles and pedestrians. The design of the parking lot prioritizes vehicle volume over safety, with multiple uncontrolled access points directly onto the roadway. The area is not only used by cars, but also by buses and large construction trucks. While the frequent presence of semi-trailers and B-trains executing U-turns has diminished over the past year, the conditions remain incompatible with Squamish’s stated commitment to safe, active transportation.
The following points illustrate the urgent need for intervention:
• Multiple vehicles often enter and exit the 100-metre parking long lot simultaneously, without any control or order. Vehicles frequently reverse out of the lot with minimal visibility, backing across the pedestrian corridor. I have personally witnessed a vehicle strike the school zone sign while backing out.
• Vehicles regularly cross the double yellow line to turn left (southbound) into a 30 km/h school zone — a maneuver that may only be legal if done safely, which is less likely in this uncontrolled context. I question whether backing across a double solid yellow line is legal at all.
• The roadway is often busy, prompting drivers to accelerate quickly to merge — the quick action reducing their attention to pedestrians and other vulnerable road users.
• The posted 30 km/h school zone limit is frequently disregarded.
• Painted parking lines are often ignored, creating unpredictable traffic and sightline challenges.
• The parking lot entrance overlaps with a complex three-way intersection at Clarke and Behrner Drive.
• Children biking home from school, individuals with strollers, and seniors residing at Hilltop House using power wheelchairs or mobility scooters all navigate this area daily — placing themselves at consistent and unnecessary risk.
I raised these concerns in June 2023 with the Municipality (Roads and Traffic Safety Engineers) and Squamish General Hospital. I specifically requested that concrete barriers be installed to limit the parking lot’s open access. Since then, the lot has been paved and painted, but no meaningful safety improvements have been implemented. I waited hopefully for positive changes, but none came. More recently, adding an electric vehicle charging station has increased parking lot activity and further contributed to congestion and confusion.
The Motor Vehicle Act requires that drivers exercise due care when entering or exiting a roadway, particularly from parking lots and in areas where pedestrians are expected. Established roadway design standards and active transportation guidelines reinforce the need to: Minimize access points, ensure adequate sight distances, install traffic control devices and create physical separation between vehicles and pedestrians.
This parking lot currently satisfies none of these requirements. Instead, it actively increases the likelihood of harm to pedestrians and cyclists. I respectfully request that the Municipality and Vancouver Coastal Health take immediate, coordinated steps to improve safety in this area.
At minimum install concrete barriers or bollards along the pedestrian/parking lot edge to separate foot traffic from vehicle activity. (There are currently unused concrete barriers on the east side of the same parking lot that could be repurposed immediately.)
2. Reduce and clearly define parking lot ingress and egress points — ideally limiting the lot to one or two access locations.
3. Install traffic control measures such as stop signs, speed bumps, and directional signage to guide vehicle behaviour and protect pedestrians.
4. Conduct a formal safety review using current roadway and active transportation design guidelines. These changes are essential for injury prevention and align with Squamish’s vision for livability and walkability.
With development increasing and traffic volumes rising, the time for action is now, not after a foreseeable collision or tragedy. I appreciated my acknowledgment in June 2023 from the Municipality, but the continued inaction is disappointing. I look forward to an update with clear next steps and a timeline for implementation.
Also want to add the safety issues driving the area of Clarke Drive & Clarke Drive, you know the winding road leading up to Sta7mes Elementary School. Parents can’t safely turn left to access Hwy 99 as blind traffic coming around the corner near the hospital comes upon very fast. I’m afraid there will be a terrible collision soon.
Wait until Redbridge is occupied with over 300 units all using that route.
That sounds like on going issues with drivers in the community in general. Trucks tailgate you, Public transit bus cuts it short into your lane etc.
In my opinion, the entrance from the traffic light of Hwy 99 up to the hospital is the most thrilling and dangerous. You have folks driving like its still the S2S and needs to be stopped and not given an option to YIELD. Why? Because shortly after the first bend on Clarke Dr before it becomes Guildford Dr, many drivers, including condo residents and hospital folks, need to turn left. Yet we have idiots tailgating folks when slowing down is necessary. Not to mention, in that intersection is the bike lane crossing that many use to cross Clarke Dr. In addition, when entering the dedicated left turn lane at the intersection, drivers also need additional time to slow down and make sure oncoming traffic blasting up the hill from northside of Guildford Dr don’t crash into them cause the lanes swerve and oncoming traffic won’t see it until they hit the high point at that intersection. The amount of time oncoming traffic cuts into the lane is ridiculously dangerous. Drivers are tailgated or about to get rammed head on.
Pretty much, i think a dedicated right turn traffic light is needed coming off Hwy99 to control traffic speed entering Northridge neighbourhood. Yield signage is not sufficient.