Honestly, I don't see what the big deal is as long as its legal, and you're riding at speeds that are reasonable for the situation at hand. Some places over here have wide, barely used sidewalks while the roads they're next to are narrow, have sharp turns with almost no visibility and traffic moving at 50-60mph. No way in hell I am getting on the road in places like that. If the road isn't dangerous I'll use it, and if I jump on a sidewalk to get over to a store or something its really not that big a deal to slow down a little and pay attention to any foot traffic.