The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-05-25
LAWFUL DISTRACTIONS.

A decision was rendered in the New
York court of appeals the other day
j that may be of interest to towns and
cities threatened with damage suits. 1t
defines lawful Instructions" on public
! streets and lays down two propositions
which are valuable as presidents.
/. A municipality may lay out grass
plots and plant trees on the sides of
the streets. and so narrow the street.
2. 1t may place stones to protect the
grass plots and the trees, even at a
private driveway, and person driv-
ing against such a stone cannot recover
in negligence against the corporation.
These declarations of law indicate the
nature of the case. The plaintiff was
injured by the upsetting of a cutter in
which he was driving, the sleigh strik-
ing a snow-covered stone placed at the
end of a grass plot for its protection.
In delivering its opinion the court
said:
While it is a duty of a municipal cor
poration to use reasonable care to keep
its streets in a safe condition to drive
upon, it has the right to devote the
sides of the streets to other useful pub
lie purposes, provided it leaves an I'M
obstructed driveway of ample width
for the passage of teams. 1t may con-
struct sidewalks of a higher grade and
cutters of a lower grade than the drive
way. place curbing on the line of the
cutters, erect hydrantS and authorize
the erection of hitching posts and step
ping stones, as well as poles to support
the wires of telegraph and telephone
lines 1t may lay out grass plots on the
sides OF the streets. set out trees there
in and protect both grass and trees
from injury by fences or other reason
able means. 1t may thus, to a rea-
sonable extent and for a useful public
purpose, narrow the driveway and eX
clude teams altogether from the sides
of the street 1t may, under reasonable
regulations and conditions, permit pri-
vate driveways TO be built from the
lands of abutting owners to the drive
way of the street, and, when they pass
near trees or grass plots, protect them
from trespass by those driving in or
out For this purpose they may bend
the line of curbing in toward the side
walk. so that it will limit the private
driveway and prevent teams from pass
ing over the s.asS or running against
the trees. If a person drives against
the curb either on the side ef the street
OF on lne sue ol lIc driveway, IL IL
his own fault or misfortune, for one
object of the curbing is to prevent
driving beyond its lines. In the case
before us a large stone took the place
of curbing, in order to keep people
from driving over the grass and against
the tree While it was an obstruction,
it was a lawful obstruction, the same
as a fence, hydrant or telegraph pole.
1t was properly placed there for the
purpose of obstructing travellers who
might otherwise drive ever the grass
plot and injure the trees. Grass plots
and shade trees on the sides of streets
serve a useful public purpose, con-
sistent with the object for which
streets are made, because they add to
the beauty of the scene and the trees
furnish shade for pedestrians during
the heat of summer. Both tend to in
crease the value of abutting property,
and to enlarge the range of taxation.
An inquiry from a neighboring town
as to the liability of municipal corpo-
rations in such cases makes the report
of this case in an eastern paper timely
for reproduction.