Originally posted by Dee
Here, we gotta. Either that or give up and drive. Oh, or we could die on the bike; there's always that option.
We don't have to stay on the sidewalks long; just long enough to get outta the congested part of town. And we have NO pedestrians (in a study, this state was the least likely out of all 50 for people to walk somewhere); the sidewalks are empty. The sidewalks run beside the streets; there are no shopfronts; all the shopfronts are in shopping centers or malls set far back from the streets. Get in line here at a busy intersection and you won't soon do it again; cars full of enraged rednecks will "explain" it to you as soon as the light turns green.
I think the situation Dee described is pretty typical these days. The main streets are congested beyond belief with traffic, storefronts are few or none, replaced by deep set shopping centers and no one walks. I think people deliberately don't walk in these setups unless absolutely necessary because they are afraid of traffic too, at intersections, parking lots, etc. And the continuity of sidewalks in any case is limited, there is no guarantee that you can go from point A to point B on a sidewalk without having to traverse an open parking lot, or a sidewalk that time forgot. Where I bike on the sidewalk, I have encountered (not kidding here) only 5-6 pedestrians during the past 6 months. This is not a business district though, but it contributes to the point trying to be made.
Walking your bike through congested ped areas is the best bet of course, but when the walks are empty (say during morning rush hour), I say be careful, but go ahead if you feel the need for your safety and ability level, and glide along at a safe pace where you can react easily to an opening shop door or such (or just ride far enough out from the shop door).
Another option are the side streets. I do this sometimes, but it severely adds to your time committment for riding, as they are usually littered with stop signs every block as opposed to Main St, and they are usually less engineered for casual grades and such, so you are often moving up the valley for instance, from Main St on the valley floor, and encountering steeper, more difficult rides.
BTW, what state are you in Dee that has so few peds on record?