Get used to the idea that not everyone lives in the same circumstances as you. The closest tracks to me are at schools, 1-2km away, and reserved for use by the students during prime outdoor-activity hours. That's probably better than for a lot of people, and even then it's nowhere near an equivalent option.
Oh yeah, also we have real winters here. Streets are plowed. Tracks aren't.
> cycle there
Hardly better. Car/bike interactions are no picnic either, and I'm also tired of cyclists thinking they're better than pedestrians somehow. It's just not so. In this case I suspect they're even worse for safety, adding yet another mismatched speed and cutting into everyone's margin of error by a greater amount. I don't see anything good or honorable about discouraging people from a healthy activity - running on streets and/or sidewalks - that can be done safely if one takes appropriate care.
One counter-intuitive result is that I cross more often against the "walk" light than with it. If I have the walk light, it usually means the cars next to me also have a green light (which is kind of insane really). Some of them will be turning, and they're far more likely to do so without looking than someone turning at a red. The A-pillar visibility issue also affects them more. It's generally safer to wait for a red light and look for a suitable gap in the cross traffic (plus right turners).
Also, a pox on anybody who tucks a crosswalk fifteen to twenty feet down the smaller street. Yes, it's further out of traffic, but it's also further out of where any driver might be looking. I will always stay in a direct line (and pay close attention to traffic) rather than take the extra steps to destroy my own safety.