Nelsen

In the underlying action, plaintiff Vernon Nelsen sued defendant City of Gridley for injuries sustained when he struck a cable stretched across a city-owned paved road while riding his motorcycle. The theory of liability was that the cable constituted a known “dangerous condition” on city property. (See Gov. Code, § 835.) The court granted summary judgment in favor of defendant city on the basis of the immunity provision of section 846 of the Civil Code. Our review of the facts and the law leads us to reverse the judgment of the trial court.

We set forth the facts pertinent to our review as established both in support of and in opposition to the motion for summary judgment:

On Easter Sunday 1977, plaintiff was returning from a drug store on his motorcycle when he entered for the first time what he described as an “extension of Washington Street.” He did not recall seeing any warning sign prior to hitting and being injured by a cable barrier stretched across the road.

Washington Street proper borders and provides access to a city park. At the time of the accident the street had been dedicated to public use and accepted into the city’s street system.

The accident,…