My neighborhood has a pretty good network of wide sidewalks for running/walking, but I see people running on the side of the street anyway. It seems much more dangerous to me to run on the street, both from an injury standpoint due to the street angling towards the curb, and from a car turning you into a rag doll.

Why do people do it?

Concrete is supposedly 10 times harder than asphalt, making recovery from runs on the road quicker.

Some sidewalks have slight bumps/ramps for driveways or intersections. Each uneven step can wreak havoc on the legs over the course of a long run.

I run my workouts on the street, except when I run on the cart path at the Glennloch Farms GC. I would rather run on asphalt since when I run a 5k most of those are coursed over asphalts anyway.

Asphalt is much easier on the legs. I run in the street over sidewalks any chance I get

There are far less obstructions in the street.
Eg. Running on sidewalks you'll always deal with Cars parked further down driveways blocking the sidewalk paths. Lazy homeowners with low branches on trees.

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There are far less obstructions in the street.
Eg. Running on sidewalks you'll always deal with Cars parked further down driveways blocking the sidewalk paths. Lazy homeowners with low branches on trees.

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This. If I'm running on a sidewalk, I'm constantly trying to watch my step so as not trip on uneven sidewalk plates, curbs, cars, etc.

On a street, all I have to do is look in front of me to make sure there is no car coming after me. If a car is coming, it's pretty easy to hop into the grass to let them pass.

Obviously I don't run on busy streets, just neighborhood streets.

Fair points. Thanks for the replies.

Still frustrating to have to dodge fatties trying to lose weight by running on my roads!

Drive better?

Being a runner, I'm way more respectful of people running /biking on the road. I would hope others do the same.

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Fair points. Thanks for the replies.

Still frustrating to have to dodge fatties trying to lose weight by running on my roads!

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Dude.

I'm kidding... not actually going to hit them or even come close. Just an observation.

Thread over.

Such the internet tough guy.

Races are run on the street, not the sidewalk.

Asphalt is a lot less jarring than concrete.

More predictable surface. Less tripping hazards.

The concrete issue is the biggest one, but a close second for me is that sidewalks are almost always slanted toward the street. I know streets usually are by the curbs, but you can at least get some mileage in near the middle when traffic is light.