[closeparen]

Huh. I would think most sidewalk users consider runners a nuisance. I certainly do. Street life is more vibrant when the people you're sharing the pathway with go about the same speed.

The purpose of a mass transit system is to reduce contention for housing by letting a city's population diffuse over a larger land area. Parking should amplify this purpose by expanding the amount of land served by the system cost-effectively (relative to more densely packing stations in low-density areas).

With regard to gyms specifically, in much of the country, weather extremes are enough to deter all but the most hardcore badasses from outdoor exercise for much of the year. My alternative to running indoors when it's 110 or -20 is to not run.