Call the City, in most cities the road construction company has to have plans on how traffic will be re-routed during construction, this should include cars, bikes and pedestrians. Ask the city what your route should be during the construction, and if there is not an alternate route plan ask them why not.

All jurisdictions are different. Many cities, like mine, forbid bikes on sidewalks in the "downtown development area," usually places where the sidewalks are especially congested, and then allow sidewalk riding elsewhere. Even though it's OK to ride up there during the duration of my commute, I generally feel safer on the road.

There's a point in my commute where it is hazardous to ride on the roadway and much safer to take the sidewalk for about 40 yards. So yes.

The flagger said it was OK to take the sidewalk, given the circumstances. On Mon, I was doing the same thing, directing a few cyclists to the sidewalk, where another flagger would guide them through the work zone. Was it major construction, or was it just a simple patch job?

Under normal circumstances, it's against the law to ride on the sidewalk, unless a sign says otherwise.

First: stay safe.
Second: make sure others are safe.
Third: obey the law.

+1

Best advice so far.

I'll take a warning or ticket over a trip in an ambulance.

Isn't this issue always answered with common sense? I prefer the bike lane when it's available, but if it isn't I'm not bashful about using the sidewalk. I'll ride in the right lane in light traffic, but heavy traffic represents too much risk: drivers putting on makeup, adjusting hair, talking/texting on cell phones, drunks, old folks and teen agers just raise the fear factor beyond my limit. I'd rather get a sidewalk citation than get side-swiped by a teen ager texting his girl friend. Construction zones are an automatic pass to use the walk.

In communities where substantial effort and cost have given us dedicated bike lanes, I feel obligated to use them as much as practicable. During rush hour traffic, I often stay home or will use the walkway to avoid competing for space. I just observed the driver of a huge dump truck blast through an intersection on pink with the cell phone pressed to his ear. The width of his vehicle gives little quarter to anything it passes; it's a deadly threat when the driver's attention isn't devoted 100% to safe operation.

Exactly.

I usually avoid the sidewalk, except for those times when it's the safest option. Sometimes I ride on suburban arterials, no shoulder, speed limit 40 mph+, and the sidewalk is completely devoid of human habitation. At those times, I don't hesitate to treat the empty 6-ft wide sidewalk as an impromptu bike path. I'm not that interested in mixing it up with high-speed drivers who can't/won't get around me just because I want to prove that cyclists belong on the road.

I live in the country where riding sidewalk is oficcially illegal but in practice all policemen consider it's safer and nobody catch sidewalk cyclists like violators. We have no bike lanes and bike paths. The most of cyclists are afraid of cars and prefer ride sidewalk than perish or wind up to a hotel with injuries. Megapolice roads with complicated motion organization and high speed junctions require special faculty and skills from us. One must ride very fast to be safe on our roads. We often ride sidewalks of whole crowd.
I relate myself to that smaller category who prefer to share roads with cars. Only on the road I can ride as fast as I want and not to jump by curbs. But I can ride sidewalk to overtake very dense traffic jam or if I move by park in slow walking pace. it's better to move slowly and make way for everyone. But some awkward cyclists contrive to hit pedestrians.

Legality is usually determined by a local ordinance, so everyone is going to be different. Your state may allow it, but a local ordinance may prohibit it. Pretty confusing.

It is a bit easier in Europe, where countries like Germany prohibit all riding on the sidewalk (unless you are under a certain age) and at the same time provide a wonderful cycling infrastructure.

I ride on the sidewalks sometime but usually try to keep my speeds from 10-13mph (and give audible warnings to pedestrians). Most people can accept that.

I tend to ride 20+ on the street (solo, faster in a pack), and those types of speeds on a sidewalk seem to frighten and/or anger just about everyone (pedestrians and autos included).

I do whatever maximizes my safety and the safety of others. Usually that means obeying the law, but not always. Sometimes you just have to do what you think is best.

Safety first, as others have said.

Sidewalks are a part of my commute for a short stretch where heavy traffic is necked down into 4 narrow 10-11 ft wide lanes through two close intersections (and there are heavy turn movements there too). There are usually no pedestrians, and I take it nice and slow and obey the signals. I ride the road and bike paths for the rest of my 5.5 mi commute. Road is safer and smoother than sidewalks, especially the older sidewalks in our town which are cracked up and nasty.

Since that short sidewalk stretch I use is halfway into my commute, I think of it as a little rest/breather, too.