Drivers appeal for road marking visibility improvements on Sea to Sky Highway

Those living along the Sea to Sky corridor are appealing to the provincial government to improve the visibility of road markings along the key highway.

The issue is a hot topic in the Sea to Sky Road Discussions Facebook group, with some drivers suggesting the current situation is worse than it’s been in previous years.

“When it gets rainy and you get a lot of mist coming up from other vehicles, there’s nothing,” Matthew Paugh, an administrator for the Facebook group, told CTV News in an interview. “There are no lines. It’s a competition to see which reflects the most, and usually the water, puddles, reflect more than the actual lines do.”

Whenever the topic comes up, there is significant discussion for action within the online group.

“Especially from Britannia, through Squamish, onward, there were no lines whatsoever,” Whistler resident Gerhard Reimer told CTV News in an interview on Friday, while discussing a recent drive. “I mean, it was raining a little bit, just a little bit of drizzle, and no yellow line visible, no white line visible or hardly noticeable.”

Some believe the ban on oil-based road paints brought in by the federal government in 2010 has resulted in less visible, less durable lines.

“It’s quite a hairy, hairy experience,” Squamish resident Chris Lindsay told CTV News. “I’ve driven this highway. I know this highway a lot, where the corners are and stuff like that, right? But I pity the poor person who comes up here and doesn’t know the road.”

Beyond the paint, some, including those who regularly drive professionally, believe safety could be improved in other ways.

Last year, Paugh, who beyond running the Facebook group also drives buses professionally, collected nearly 3,000 signatures for a petition to improve safety on the Sea-to-Sky. But he says he’s largely been left without a response—a Ministry of Transportation employee indicated to CTV News there was no record of communication, but acknowledged that doesn’t mean it wasn’t submitted in some form.

“Essentially, you’re looking at a highway was updated and designed 25 years ago for the Winter Olympics, and then it seems it was forgot about,” said Paugh.

In response to our questions, the province told CTV News it always reviews the products used on highways.

It says line markings are refreshed each spring, saying repainting isn’t possible during winter. It pointed out maintenance such as plowing and sanding can cause “significant wear and tear on pavement markings.”

The Ministry of Transportation declined a request for an interview to explore some of these issues further – but insists it takes safety seriously.