[michaelt]

I once lived in a city that had replaced street lights that cast light in a circle with modernised ones that cast a sharply delimited rectangle of light on the road, and didn't waste light in other directions.

The thing was, the roads of this city were arranged as a footpath, then a grassed area with trees, then the lights, then the roadway. Only after the city had rolled out thousands of these lights did someone notice the footpaths were now much darker. And also the footpaths were quite uneven, due to the trees' roots - a problem the lights had previously been keeping under control.

It's now common, in winter, to see groups jogging on the road.

[wongarsu]

Planners forgetting that pedestrians exist is sadly a common occurrence

[Rotundo]

Over here, joggers are frequently wearing headlamps to illuminate their way. Often combined with a light on their back. They can see and can be seen, which is safe.

[michaelt]

There are some fine products on the market compared to a few decades ago, yes. I particularly like the fact rechargeable lights are always at full brightness.

Alas when running in a group, the runner in front of you can not just obstruct your line of sight of the pavement, but also the light of your torch. His retroreflective vest becomes the brightest thing in your view. And he's not happy either; backlit by your torch, he casts a shadow forwards and the road ahead is illuminated everywhere except where he's about to step. And of course the tree-lined pavement, while very beautiful and shaded in the summer, isn't very wide. So you can't always run beside the guy.

My personal 'solution' is not to run fast enough to keep up with the guy ahead of me, giving me a clear view. But you don't win medals with my attitude.

[Finnucane]

Get rid of cars and they'd take down all the lights.