City held negligent for not installing sidewalks

In a case that has ramifications for cities across the country, a California city has awarded almost $40 million to the parents of a girl who was killed on a busy roadway with no sidewalks.

The street was in a residential area near a school. The city had received many citizen complaints about the need for a sidewalk but, instead of immediate installing the $6,000 sidewalks with their own money, had waited to apply for a grant from the state.

According to an L.A. Times article:

In a verdict delivered Monday, the jury decided the city is 75% liable for the damages. The parents of the driver are liable for the remaining 25%.

The city is still clueless:

Fontana [city] spokesman Edward Raya said the city believes Karen's death was due to a negligent driver, traveling more than 50 mph, and not the absence of sidewalks.

"How that makes us responsible, I don't know," Raya said. "We're shocked at the size of this verdict. It's extremely large for an accident of this kind." The city will appeal, he said.

The attorneys representing the girl's parents, Cruz and Agueda Miranda, argued that Fontana failed to act on reports that lack of sidewalks created a hazard because of the heavy volume of vehicle and pedestrian traffic before and after school at the 3,700-student high school. . .

Cities still think of things like sidewalks and on-street bicycle accommodations as "optional amenities".

This is not the attitude of federal law or standard traffic planning guides. Or common sense.

Fontana, like many cities, felt that it could install a road without installing a "complete street". With a $40 million judgement against it, perhaps the city will change its tune.