Donald Appleyard always used to say that the measure of a livable street was if a cat could lie out in the middle of the road. Chances are it was a good habitat for humans as well. When Andrew Lloyd Webber adapted Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats into Cats the following didn’t make the cut:
“Old Deuteronomy sits in the street,
He sits in the High Street on market day…
The cars and the lorries run over the kerb,
And the villagers put up a notice: ROAD CLOSED-
So that nothing untoward may chance to disturb
Deuteronomy’s rest when he feels so disposed
Or when he’s engaged in domestic economy…”
The people in my study who lived on 20,000 car/ day Muller Rd. in Bristol didn’t let their cats lie out in the road. In fact, virtually all of them had given up owning pets entirely. The heartbreak of losing them was just too much for them to bear….
On the Level: Car Free Blog 