Campbell v. City of Santa Monica

HANSON, J. pro tem.

The question for decision is whether the defendant city is liable for injuries sustained by plaintiff John M. Campbell, a minor, as a result of being struck by a privately owned automobile driven by a member of the public along a wide sidewalk known as the “Promenade. ’ ’

The Promenade, or sidewalk,' located in the city of Santa Monica, runs parallel to the Pacific Ocean and immediately adjacent to its beach for a distance of approximately two miles. The Promenade is of concrete and is twenty feet in width. As indicated, it is a promenade or walk for the use of pedestrians, and is in no sense a highway for general public use. However, owing to its substantial construction and width an ordinance of the city authorizes its chief of police under certain conditions to grant special permits to trades people to drive upon it for the special purpose of making deliveries of merchandise to residents who live alongside of it, whether they do or do not have direct means of egress and ingress to the main traveled thoroughfare, Roosevelt Highway, that parallels it some one hundred feet to the east. Otherwise, the ordinance in question bars all vehicular traffic upon the Promenade as well as on all other sidewalks in the city except at and within intersections with driveways or streets. A street known as Colorado runs east and west in Santa Monica across the Promenade to a large pier in the ocean, onto which vehicular traffic is permitted. Immediately to the south of Colorado Street is Moss Street, which runs parallel to Colorado Street and which also crosses over the Prome

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nade and terminates at the pier without requiring the use of the Promenade except as a point for crossing.

At the time of the accident an overhead crossing or bridge was being erected from the pier above the Promenade and the highway which parallels it. At the time, the bridge construction which was being carried on blocked traffic along the highway. Accordingly, a motorist coming on the highway from the south was compelled at Moss Street, the first street to the south of Colorado, to turn left onto that street, as it was blocked to the east. Upon turning left his way led to the pier. However, Seaside Street, immediately to the south of Moss Street and running parallel to it, had a large “detour” sign with an arrow pointing to the right, which was plainly visible to motorists. The defendant Hoyt, who was driving a car owned by defendant Schmalzer, wishing to drive north, disregarded the sign at Seaside and, finding his way blocked at Moss Street, turned to the left, as he could not there turn to the right. As a consequence he found his only alternative to driving onto the pier, and there turning around and retracing his route, was to turn onto the Promenade. This he did, and after he proceeded on it for about a mile he struck and seriously injured the minor plaintiff, who was in the act of running across the Promenade.