My current commute has me going through an extremely busy intersection with lots of lanes crammed into the original street width as designed 50 years ago. I've ridden through it on the street but never feel very comfortable.

So I hit the sidewalk a block ahead of the intersection and get back on the street a block after the intersection. It's not illegal here and I might encounter a pedestrian once per month so it's not like I'm a nusience. More often I encounter other riders doing the same thing on this stretch.

I generally don't like to ride on the sidewalk, but I don't sweat it for a couple blocks in rare situations.