In McPhillips v. Brodbeck, 289 Ala. 148, 266 So. 2d 592 (1972), the Court examined the vacation of a road by an abutting landowner pursuant to Title 56, 32, Code of Alabama (1940), the predecessor to 23-4-20, Ala. Code 1975; the earlier statute contains the same requirements as 23-4-20. In that case, this Court noted a distinction between the vacation of a road by a public authority and the vacation of a road by abutting landowners as follows: "We are not here dealing with a vacation of a street initiated by public authority to better serve the public interest where the rule of public necessity must override public convenience, but on the contrary we deal with a statutory provision whereby private interests may under prescribed circumstances deprive others of the use of a portion of an existing street in order to further the personal desires of such private interests. Such a statute should be strictly construed so that it not be an agency for oppression or misuse." 289 Ala. at 154, 266 So. 2d at 597.