I went clipless for cheap recently (45$ for pedals and shoes on ebay), and love it.

But on my tall bikes I use BMX pedals, cause you really don't want to be hooked onto something 6 feet in the air. They do a good job!

There are bikes that make the most sense with platforms, but those bikes aren't usually road bikes. I support people getting the stuff that is the most comfortable to them, but sometimes you have to wonder if the person bought the right tool for the job...

If I went to the hardware store and bought a sledge hammer, and then came back four more times so I could buy tools to shave the handle down, and cut the head up so it would be smaller, they might wonder why I didn't just buy a regular claw hammer in the first place..

If you want relaxed riding, there are hybrids and comfort bikes that do that without having to do any 'downgrading/sidegrading'. And the platform pedals come with them.

If you want to take advantage of the performance benefits of a true road bike, you might want to consider clips and straps or clipless. If not, you are spending a lot of energy whittling down a sledge hammer, when you really just want a ball peen.

peace,
sam