I am not sure why this has become such a strange thread, but common sense does dictate the realities regarding safety. A simple comparison using an example already brought up earlier may shed some light on the situation.
Seastar Lane has an active business at the bottom of the lane on one side and a long time resident living across the lane from the business. There is a street light at the intersection with the West End Road providing light in this area. As you head up the lane, you will see street lights about every 200-300 feet or so. There are many apartment style residences that have their tenants sitting on the verandas, doing their laundry, keeping their yards clean, etc. There are little kids running around the lane and there are sleeping police (speed bumps) to slow the drivers down to a reasonable pace for the kids safety. There are single family homes as well along the lane and then you will arrive at Seastar Inn.
On Summerset Road today you have the same type street light at the intersection with the West End Road, with a business on both sides of the road. As you head down the road, you will encounter Bella Donna's on the left, but then after that there are no working streetlights and there are overgrown open area's that used to be thriving businesses, now in a state of decay. And while it is one of the few roads with a sidewalk in Negril, you will notice that even the sidewalks are becoming overgrown. You will walk a ways further and will notice two walled off properties on either side of the road, with walls high enough so they do not allow anyone to see in, and obviously allows no one to see out either. As you pass these properties you arrive at Summerset Village.
If you are talking about safety while walking both roads, common sense dictates that the one with an active neighborhood with streetlights, where the residents are visible and able to watch the comings and goings of others at all hours of the day and night would be the safest of the two.
There is no one here trying to state anything other than their opinion as they know it. But it should be remembered that basing your opinion on only the relatively short time you are visiting Negril during busy season, be it a week or several months, can lead to a possible erroneous take on the situation during slow season. Businesses that may be open during busy season may be closed during the slow times. What may seem like a safe thing to do when it is busy might be a rather bad idea when things are slow. This is true of any seasonal tourist area worldwide.
Summerset Village is and has been a decent, affordable place to stay in Negril for years, but it is rather sad that the neighborhood there has fallen on such hard times. Negrilaholic, if you take the words of caution seriously and follow the advice that has been given by the posters in this thread - as everyone has stated you should be just fine.
