People on a sidewalk have a reasonable expectation that people with a vehicle traveling at more than 3 times their speed will not be present. The city of Palo Alto in California mandated that bicyclists use the sidewalks and soon realized their folly and reversed the ordinance.

In the United States a great many people have a sense of entitlement and do not want to share the road or a bike path and take offense when others want equal access. It is what it is and best to accept this and do whatever is prudent. Overall I find city streets much safer for bicyclists as motorists speeds are much slower and so the drivers have more time to see a bicyclist and react if need be. Bike paths are fine if one is a mile or more from a parking area and so there are far fewer pedestrians wandering about.