Kemble v. Metropolitan District Commission

The question before us is whether, as matter of law, an outdoor stairway leading to a pedestrian overpass is to be considered a sidewalk for the purposes of G. L. c. 92, § 36. The question arises because the plaintiff, Peter Kemble, claims to have been injured while descending the stairway, which extends from a pedestrian overpass at the Charles Street circle area of the Charles River reservation in Boston. Pedestrians use the overpass to access the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) Charles Street subway station as well as to cross over to the other side of Charles Street.…