Originally Posted by
C.I.
My advice: use only road in day or night, no sidewalk. On the road you should carefully fallow by all road regulation like you drive a car, even in night and no cars around (!) you should stop on red light signal and continue only on green, etc. If you use sidewalk you will broke the regulation (going over crossing road on green via pedestrian line, you can't going by bike (!), you should walk with your bike near when you crossing the road on green light, and it's I think unpractical for long ride with many streets crossing. I only once in my life used sidewalk for bike ride in the city and been crushed by car (not severe), even I used green line for crossing road, the car been just not stop yet on red light signal. Only road for commute by bike with fallow all road regulation, not a sidewalk.
There's some truth to this. The only time I was ever hit by a car was 30 years ago when I was on the sidewalk crossing the entry to a parking lot/garage. I was using the sidewalk as a shortcut because the road was a one-way loop. Daytime. I saw the car - she saw me. We both went. No injuries but a bent up bike.
Nowadays I still use some sidewalks, but judiciously - mostly when I'm tired and don't want to poke up a steep hill in traffic and no shoulder.
At the end of the day, do what is safest.