What we need to do is to educate people to use their common sense to dictate where is safest to ride, rather than automatically going to the sidewalk. I see people riding on the sidewalk on residential streets so quiet that I could have a picnic in the middle of the road without bothering anyone.
Our cycling infrastructure can help change people's behavior. In the Netherlands, bike paths always exit onto the road, not the sidewalk and cyclists are perfectly comfortable cycling on quiet streets. In Toronto, too many of our "mixed-use" trails end at the sidewalk without allowing easy access to road level, which encourages cyclists to ride along the sidewalk even in places it would be safer on the road.
For the roads that aren't bike-friendly, on-street bike lanes are a good mentality changer. Before they put in bike lanes on Dufferin, almost all cyclists were on the sidewalk. Now I'd guess about 40% of cyclists are on the street (a disturbingly low percentage, considering the lanes are wide and unobstructed). It may be a pathetic ratio compared to downtown, but it's a step in the right direction.
As for Bixi, I think if we placed more stations on the side of the road, rather than the sidewalk, it would send the message that cyclists are welcome on the road.
