Do it! For any road where cars are going 35-40mph or less, I'd much rather take my chances with the road. If you're a decent biker you're going 15-20mph so you're from cars' perspective you're going < 20mph and very easy to see and avoid. For pedestrians, you're much bigger AND much faster, and there aren't well-defined rules, so you're very difficult to deal with.
On the sidewalk, you have a narrower, less predictable path, pedestrians, curb cuts, more frequent bumps, plus you're basically invisible to turning cars when going through an intersection. Visibility, road quality, and avoiding pedestrians are the biggest benefits to riding on the road.
For reference, I've bike commuted in Tampa, Provo (at the University), Stockholm, Chicago city and Chicago suburbs)
