Mary Riggins brought suit against the City of St. Marys1 to recover damages for injuries incurred by her son and ward, Caleb Riggins, who was seriously injured in an automobile collision in the city. She alleged in her complaint that the intersection at which the collision occurred was a dangerous nuisance that caused Caleb’s injuries. Riggins amended the complaint to add a negligence claim based upon the city’s failure to install a traffic light at the intersection. The city moved for summary judgment, which the trial court granted, and Riggins appeals. We agree with the trial court that the negligence claim cannot stand because whether to install a traffic signal at the intersection was a discretionary act, entitling the city to sovereign immunity. We agree with Riggins, however, that the trial court erred in finding as a matter of law that the city’s acts or omissions regarding the intersection could not have been a proximate cause of Caleb’s injuries. We conclude that summary judgment in favor of the city on Riggins’s nuisance claim was error. We therefore affirm in part and reverse in part the judgment below. The record shows that the collision occurred at the intersection of Kings Bay and Colerain Roads in the city. Kings Bay Road is a four lane road divided by a median; it leads to the Kings Bay submarine facility and is heavily traveled. Colerain Road is a two lane road connecting Interstate 95 to St. Marys. The intersection was originally outside the city limits, but in 1985, the city annexed the intersection and surrounding land. Because of increasing traffic and a concomitant increase in accidents involving failure to yield the right-of-way, the city attempted to control traffic at the intersection in 1988 by installing a blinking light. The light blinked yellow on Kings Bay Road and red on Colerain Road. The frequency of accidents thereafter increased 70 percent.
In response to a request from the Navy for additional traffic control devices, the city requested that the Georgia Department of Transportation the DOT take over the intersection. The DOT declined the city’s request but did conduct a study of the intersection, finding that the increase in accidents was caused by drivers failing to pay proper heed to the blinking signal and “pulling into the path of approaching vehicles.” The DOT also found that the turn arrows and stop lines on the roads’ surfaces were worn and needed replacement, and that overgrown vegetation in the median area obscured drivers’ visibility. It recommended installation of a traffic light to replace the blinking light.
