Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
Having been blinded on a MUP myself, and seeing a lot of rider with overly-bright headlights, I have come to the conclusion that such riders think of their headlights as a force-shield that will protect them from oncoming cars, so the the brighter the better. 
Personally for nighttime riding on my mostly well-illuminated suburban and urban roads, I prefer a flashing light at a low setting pointed at the road surface, and two flashing rear lights, for redundancy and dyssynchrony.
That sounds like a great solution for your particular situation.
I'm riding on rural 2 lane roads, completely pitch black at night, and 60+ MPH traffic. Flashing lights are a non-starter at night, but a necessity in the daytime. I won't be irritating anyone on an MUP because for the most part there are no MUPs here. That did recently change for me, I have about 3 miles of my 24 mile commute on one now, but to date (only ridden it 4 times, we just moved) I have yet to see anyone else on the path in the morning. There are runners and walkers in the afternoon, but I don't turn my flasher on until I get to the road.