Forget studies, look at physics. A cyclist has much more in common with a car when it comes to the physics of stopping, starting, and changing direction than a pedestrian. A car must haul itself down from speed over a long distance, accelerates relatively slowly to top speed, and generally must slow down to make most turns. A person on foot can stop almost instantaneously, reaches top speed from a standing start almost immediately, and can change directions 90 degrees at full speed with no warning. A bicycle is much closer to a car in all three respects than a pedestrian.

To say you're going to act like a pedestrian when riding on the sidewalk is against the laws of physics. You're riding a hard and sometimes weighty piece of equipment that requires a good deal of forward momentum to remain balanced. It is impossible to ride like a pedestrian walks. Even you if put the seat down and set both feet on the ground and walk, you are still not a pedestrian.

You should ride your bike on the road or path that best supports your ability to handle the bike, given all those physical limitations. In some cases that may be a wide sidewalk with relatively little pedestrian traffic. In some cases that's a road. And in some cases, that requires a path with only bikes on it. But to say you're going to be like a pedestrian on the sidewalk is much more unlikely than saying you're going to be like a car on the road.