Yes exactly, aim them downward and turn the unused ones off, which is most of them most of the time, and the problem will be solved for everyone. The reason we should do it is that it will save money and power for everyone, the night sky is just icing on the cake.
Getting lights to blink in unison is a neat idea, and technically not hard nor too expensive for new lighting. Personally I think the biggest problem with it is that cities aren’t going to agree to overhaul all existing outdoor lighting only for the sake of people using telescopes. Even if there was widespread buy-in this is a project that could easy take 50 years or more, and cities might be reluctant to commit to this idea right when technology is rapidly changing.
Getting lights to blink in unison is a neat idea, and technically not hard nor too expensive for new lighting. Personally I think the biggest problem with it is that cities aren’t going to agree to overhaul all existing outdoor lighting only for the sake of people using telescopes. Even if there was widespread buy-in this is a project that could easy take 50 years or more, and cities might be reluctant to commit to this idea right when technology is rapidly changing.