Oh people you have to be kidding!!!!
First off, check your city/town ordinances - see if it LEGAL to ride on the sidewalk. Many cities - including mine, Rochester, NY - it is against the law to ride on the sidewalk.
Second, you as a bicyclist are a vehicle on the highway. Yes a regular vehicle. We give out John Allen's (one of his many I think) riding pamphlet to all our new club members - great read and good stuff to know.
I commute in a busy city, and I head right into the guts of a myriad roadway of buses (bad things BTW), one way streets, people who don't know where the heck they're going and of course, the distracted driver.
If you ride road correctly, signal, stop, ride the best choice of roads due to traffic conditions, and always if it is at least two lanes, please take up one lane! Getting over as far as you can so cars can pass will only allow you to be sideswiped.
I ride a sidewalk only on a busy street and at a busy time when it becomes a zoo as it's a half mile long jam and they're all trying to get onto the expressway, but you should understand that by riding sidewalk you run the risk of every person leaving their house and zooming down the driveway and not seeing you. I've had this happen. I'll take road any day of the week over sidewalk.