Hey,
Portland Public has a copy of Effective Cycling. Get it, read it, it will help. It uses the vehicular cycling idea. That is where you act like a car.

While you really need to read it, I use whatever tactic seems to fit the situation best. I try to use side streets where I can. There are intersections I mostly avoid (Forest and Allen, for example).

You are lucky, ten years ago people were hostile to cyclists. That seems to have gone. And if you think the traffic is bad here, you should try riding in Boston sometime.