KINGSTON, Jamaica — As Jamaica observes Global Road Safety Week, the National Works Agency (NWA) has underscored its focus on road safety through the continued rollout of the Shared Prosperity Through Accelerated Improvement to our Road Network (SPARK) programme.

According to NWA’s Manager of Communication and Customer Services, Stephen Shaw, the SPARK initiative is grounded in the principle that “the separation of people and traffic is crucial for safety purposes”, highlighting the foundation of a tangible shift in how Jamaica’s roads are designed, built and navigated.

According to Shaw, SPARK is an integrated programme that brings together telecoms, water, sewage, and roadworks through which the NWA is redrawing the lines of mobility, making room for every type of road user.

“SPARK is not just a significant infrastructure project, but a response to a longstanding challenge. For decades, roads across the island have borne witness to preventable tragedies where pedestrians are forced into the same lanes as motor vehicles, inadequate signage leading to confusion, poor drainage resulting in waterlogged corridors, and a general absence of features that signal safety rather than danger,” said Shaw.

He pointed out that the SPARK programme puts safety at the centre.

“Roads under its scope are being upgraded with features such as hard shoulders, modern drainage systems, sidewalks, pedestrian crossings, and clear, consistent road markings. Signage is being strategically placed to guide and inform, ensuring that both pedestrian and vehicular traffic can navigate spaces with clarity and caution.

“These are not cosmetic changes, they are practical solutions that reduce the possibility of accidents and injury. We are redesigning corridors where necessary to ensure pedestrians are no longer left to navigate the margins,” added Shaw.

The NWA executive argued that this approach is especially relevant in the context of Global Road Safety Week, which this year invites countries to create safe streets for life.

Global Road Safety Week is being observed from May 12 to May 18.

“Jamaica is doing precisely that through SPARK. The programme affirms that roads are not the exclusive domain of motorists; they belong to all who travel, whether on foot, by bicycle or by car,” said Shaw as he declared that, “The road belongs to the people”.

He emphasised that citizen engagement is essential to preserving these works as actions such as improper waste disposal, blocking of drains, or wilful damage to road surfaces can significantly undermine the life and function of newly constructed corridors.

SPARK is being carried out in phases with an overall budget of $45 billion, underscoring what the Minister with responsibility for Works, Robert Morgan, has repeatedly said, is the Government’s long-term investment in the country’s infrastructure.