Glad to see some common sense, Prairie Stash! I was starting to worry that car clowns had hijacked the forum! As I mentioned earlier, I have biked in Dallas myself and find the city quite appealing for bicycling.
So, if there's a sidewalk, it is safer to walk than bike, because you are sharing the road with cars that are going 55 mph.
Really, so there aren't any streets in your area with speed limits lower than 55 mph? Every single street is full of fast moving cars? If that's the case that sounds like a very dangerous and unpleasant place to live, and if you truly value your safety you should quickly move away from that location.
As far as biking on the sidewalks, even if it is illegal I highly doubt that law is enforced anywhere. I do tend to think it should be avoided, due to the risk of hitting pedestrians and generally being less visible to cars turning into driveways than you would be on the road. But it is a solution to be considered for covering any short distances where you may have to be on a high speed road. I've biked all over the US though, and rarely find the need to be on a road with a 45+ mph speed limit for more than a mile.
I have a feeling that most of these people who claim their area is unsafe for bikes really mean "we don't have designated bike lanes on every street here, and it would be dangerous to bike the route I take driving my SUV to work, so it's not possible to ride a bike here. Oh well, guess I'll have to postpone my retirement by 10+ years."
If that is you, I think there are several more MMM articles you must have missed, in addition to the one about bicycling being the safest form of transportation:
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2016/07/13/making-space-for-badassity/
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/04/22/curing-your-clown-like-car-habit/
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/06/07/safety-is-an-expensive-illusion/
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/05/07/what-do-you-mean-you-dont-have-a-bike/
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/04/18/get-rich-with-bikes/
Here, let me be more specific:
Where *I* live (Coastal Southern California), we have a wide variety of biking options.
- City streets, with speed limits of 25 to 55 mph
- City streets, with speed limits of 25 to 55 mph AND a dedicated bike lane
- Dedicated bike paths (paved)
- The occasional dirt path
Depending on where you live and where you need to go, you may need to go on any combination of those. Now, my husband and I actually bike to work a couple of times per week, schedule permitting (summer camp Tetris is making that difficult these last few weeks, but will improve in mid-July). We generally choose the shortest route, which starts in our neighborhood (no bike path, speed limit 25-35, generally pretty safe) to riding on larger streets with a bike lane and a 50 mph speed limit. There is a section where you are in "town" and it's two lanes in each direction, parking on each side, and no bike lane. That's a little iffy, but if you time it right, then you are fine. The last little bit is, again, a bike lane on the side of the road and a 45 mph speed limit.
Now, there are sections of town and roads where the speed limit is 55 mph and there is a very small bike lane, or no bike lane at all. And people have died. So, depending on where you live and where you need to go...you might not be able to avoid that road. So, what is your risk tolerance? My personal risk tolerance was a little higher before I had two kids. I personally know 3 people who regularly biked to work who have been hit in the last 3 years. One guy twice, the other two guys once, and the recovery time was LONG.
Yes, the police here actually enforce no biking on the sidewalks, on occasion, though they generally give a pass to the beach area. Which is hilarious, because the beach area in the one place where they have a road AND a dedicated bike path AND a sidewalk. Just crazy.
In my home town, it is very rural. All of the roads are 55 mph speed limit with no berm or bike lane. "Maybe you should move" is pretty hilarious. People grew up there, have jobs, have homes, they are hardly going to move just so they can bike to work.
But that's okay, I can totally see how you are an absolute expert of every single town, city, rural area in the entire US and its bike-ability. Tell us all about it.