I’m a bicycle commuter as well, and use my bicycle for at least 90% of my transportation needs. I even have a fat tire bike so I can continue to ride in the snow. The city where I live continues to add bike lanes, and they are wonderful, but they certainly don’t cover everywhere I need to ride, and some of the roads I have to traverse are flat out dangerous for cyclists. In those areas I do what any sensible rider would do and ride on the sidewalk. I don’t ride like a maniac, and any time I approach a pedestrian I slow to their speed, ring my bell, and say “Excuse me, have a nice day.” as I pass them. 100% of the time pedestrians are cool with this. Cops don’t care either, because I’m sure they would rather watch a cyclist riding on the sidewalk than be writing an accident report about them. I certainly don’t do this on the crowded sidewalks downtown, but there are bike lanes there anyway. If I go to a show at night, I ride pretty much exclusively on sidewalks because drunks, but of course there is virtually no pedestrian traffic at that hour.

The day will never come when it is absolutely safe to ride on city streets with motor vehicles. My city was primarily built in the 19th Century, and like it not we are stuck with that layout. Drivers fight for every street parking space tooth and nail, and they will continue to be in the mix since they pay taxes too. I am going to ride as safely as possible on the infrastructure that exists now, and if that means rolling down the sidewalk on occasion, that’s what I’m going to do.