To be clear there are three ways to use Strava:
One is the global heat map, it is awesome and I use it all the time. It is now on the phone app under maps so I use it even more.
Second is when you see other riders on a Strava segment you did, look at their full route and see how they connected things together. I learned a lot doing this (for example I found where the local cycling clubs go). Some riders go on streets too dangerous for me so you need to take it with a grain of salt.
Third is they have a route suggestion feature. I have found this (as well as Komoot route planning) is not a good way to plan routes as they often put you on dangerous streets. I do use Komoot a lot for route planning, but I always am having to add a bunch of extra points to get the route off of certain bad streets.