In CA it's not legal to ride on the sidewalk, and I don't know of any exceptions . . . One morning I was, however, riding on the sidewalk of Imperial Highway and ended up at a stoplight parked right next to a Norwalk Police Officer. So, I asked "Is it legal for me to ride on the sidewalk?"

His response, "No, it's not. But I don't want you out here with this traffic, so just be careful and watch out for pedestrians."

Of course, if this had been a road/highway with a bike lane, or even space for a bike alongside the motor traffic, I probably wouldn't have gotten that response!

Unlike the OP, I've never had any negative reactions from pedestrians at all. To the contrary, I've gotten a couple of "cool bike!" comments while waiting for the light to change at a cross-walk.

My Tues. morning commute was delightfully uneventful. Boring, but in a good way!

Rick / OCRR