It's hard for me to have sympathy for cyclists as I see so many run red lights and plow directly through pedestrians even when the pedestrians have the right of way. Maybe that's a few bad apples but it happens enough that it feels like the norm. Yes, 2 wrongs to make a right. If the light is red and the pedestrian is crossing without looking then I'd also be upset at the pedestrian.
Try paying attention to cars running stop signs and red lights (and speeding!) some time. You might be surprised to realize how often you've ignored this happening.
Have you ever taken note of how often motorists exceed the speed limit?
I think you've shifted context from general sidewalks to red lights though. I think 99 percent of red light running cyclists would agree you have to do that carefully and assume people will step out at that point. The bad apples are the ones who aren't careful about it.
