NEWPORT BEACH : Boardwalk-Accident Claim Turned Down

City officials have rejected a $1-million claim filed by a Fountain Valley roller skater who collided with a bicyclist and a Rottweiler dog on the city’s boardwalk.

The claim is the second this year that attempts to hold the city accountable for allegedly unsafe conditions on the crowded oceanfront walk, and for allowing a dog on the walk, where such animals are banned. It comes as the city this week approved sweeping rule changes aimed at making the promenade safer.

Earlier this year, the city paid $270,000 in damages to a victim of a 1987 accident on the boardwalk that led to the current safety reforms.

City Atty. Robert Burnham said the latest case is different from the 1987 case because of the dog, which the claimant says caused the collision.

According to the claim, the skater was rolling along on June 1 when the Rottweiler being walked by a pedestrian on estimated 9-foot leash jumped out, forcing the skater to swerve and hit on oncoming bicyclist.

The claim questions why the dog was allowed on the boardwalk when the accident occurred about 1 p.m. A city ordinance prohibits dogs on the beach from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. between Sept. 15 and June 15, and bans them at all hours between June 15 and Sept. 15.

Another claim filed by a skater on the boardwalk earlier this year was denied by the city.

The city, in trying to improve boardwalk-safety conditions, this week approved a plan for an 8-m.p.h. speed limit for all users, new traffic-flow directions and a prohibition against “reckless” behavior.