That's actually pretty cool. And, if you'd had time, it could be a good first step.

This weekend, I stopped near the top of a hill, pulled the bike onto the sidewalk, and adjusted my shoe. An older guy walking up the sidewalk told me I could bike there if I wanted, and that it's safer. I smiled and told him "It's safer for me, maybe, but not for you. Do you really want to get out of my way as I fly down the sidewalk at 25 mph?"

The driver you met had some empathy in him. He didn't want to hit you. The next step, or one of them, is realizing that putting bikes on the sidewalk creates the same kind of situation, but for pedestrians now.