Originally Posted by stonecrd
The only time I have seen a rider go down is with toe clips and during starts off a light with too high a gearing.
That's the only time it bothers me. As a commuter you don't always find yourself in a low enough gear after you stop unexpectedly, so you have to wobble your front wheel to stay balanced as you start up. I haven't fallen, but I've mangled the tips of my Axiom fender struts.
The OP sounds like a pretty experienced cyclist, so it the toe overlap is bothering her so much I assume it's more severe than most of us deal with.