Mirage Hotel Las Vegas

The diagram below shows the two sidewalks on which the Mirage and Treasure Island granted their "pedestrian easement" to the city. The sidewalk in front of the Mirage is entirely owned by the Mirage and consists of a cement walkway directly abutting Las Vegas Boulevard. Part of the sidewalk is bordered by the water and volcano attraction located in front of the Mirage. The pedestrian easement includes the length of the sidewalk as it runs parallel to the Strip.

The sidewalk in front of Treasure Island consists of both a publicly owned cement walkway directly abutting Las Vegas Boulevard and an adjacent privately owned planked walkway. The pedestrian easement includes that portion of the planked walkway running parallel to Las Vegas Boulevard. The planked area serves not only as a thoroughfare along the Strip but also as a place from *419 which pedestrians can enjoy Treasure Island's Buccaneer Bay show, which is staged on the large pond in front of the casino. The narrow public sidewalk abutting the planked walkway is approximately five feet in width and was apparently built after Treasure Island's completion in order to relieve the pedestrian congestion caused by the performance of the Buccaneer Bay show. [FN2]

FN2. At trial, there may be evidence presented that establishes that the principal purpose of the planked area is not to serve as a public sidewalk and that adequate space is provided by the abutting public sidewalk to meet the demands of a public thoroughfare along the Strip. However, at this time, it appears that the two walkways fronting Treasure Island function coextensively as public thoroughfares except during the small portions of the day when the Buccaneer Bay show is being performed. Cf. United States v. Kokinda, 497 U.S. 720, 728-29, 110 S.Ct. 3115, 111 L.Ed.2d 571 (1990) (noting that "the location and purpose of a publicly owned sidewalk is critical to determining whether such a sidewalk constitutes a public forum").