Road Safety Clubs Launched at Seven Primary Schools

Seven primary-level schools across the island will benefit from activities aimed at improving the safety of children as they traverse the roads, under the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) ‘Safe Passage: Safe Routes to School Road Safety Clubs’.

The initiative, which was launched on Wednesday (March 9) at the AC Hotel by Marriott in New Kingston, will see the formation of road-safety clubs at the institutions to promote advocacy and behaviour change among students and the wider community, and to teach children to be responsible road users.

The schools are Treadlight Primary in Clarendon; Hope Valley Experimental Primary and Infant and August Town Primary in Kingston and St. Andrew; Bickersteth Primary and Infant, Roehampton Primary, and Salt Spring Primary in St. James; and Greenwich All-Age, St. Catherine.

As part of the undertaking, the Ministry of Transport and Mining’s Road Safety Unit and the Safety and Security Unit in the Ministry of Education and Youth will facilitate workshops to coordinate, sponsor and implement road-safety awareness activities.

Coming out of these workshops, a road-safety plan will be developed for each school, including advice on road-safety issues, and maintaining safe-passage routes.

The launch of the road-safety clubs is a component of the Integrated Community Development Project II (ICDP II) ‘Safe Passages’ project, which aims to provide a safe environment for students as they traverse specific roadways and thoroughfares in the vicinity of selected school campuses.

With a total investment of $155 million, the Safe Passages project has several components, including the rehabilitation/construction of infrastructure such as sidewalks, bus bays and guardrails, painting of murals, installation of road safety signs, as well as the implementation of a comprehensive public education and road-safety programme to engage school staff, students, and residents from the beneficiary communities.

As a result, students from approximately 13 additional schools in the neighbouring communities will also benefit from these upgrades.

Minister of Transport and Mining, Hon. Audley Shaw, in his address at the launch, said that all citizens have a duty to protect children on the roads.

“This is especially as we adjust to the return of full face-to-face classes,” he noted.

For her part, Minister of Education and Youth, the Hon. Fayval Williams, said she is pleased to note that the clubs were formed not just to promote advocacy and behaviour change among the students and the wider communities as well.

She noted that the lessons to be imparted to the students through the clubs will “help them not [just to] and from school but will continue with them into their adult lives”.

Managing Director of JSIF, Omar Sweeney, pointed out that the clubs will have a multiplier effect, as knowledge and positive behaviour on the roads can be diffused throughout the schools, family, and community.

Safe Passages Project Manager, Shunelle Nevers, noted that the initiative employs a holistic approach that incorporates evaluation, enforcement, and education on safe road use.

“JSIF does a baseline assessment… to identify what the gaps [of knowledge] of the children are, and what they need to learn, so the baseline assessment actually impacts the infrastructure and the softer learning side,” she pointed out.

Also partnering in the project’s implementation are municipal corporations, community development committees (CDCs) and the Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).