I'm convinced that the single greatest factor determining whether you want a sidewalk in front of your house is whether there is a sidewalk there now. If it's there now, you either don't care, or think it's great. (At most, you might bemoan it when you get assessed for its repair.) But if it's not there, so often you either don't want sidewalks in "your" yard at all, or perhaps just want the sidewalks
somewhere else. "It's perfectly safe to walk in the street," you say, despite having not walked anywhere in your neighborhood without a dog leash in hand for six months.
I actually do agree with a couple quoted critics here. Cities often prioritize dead-straight sidewalks over retaining trees, and I think that's a mistake (at least for sidewalks-- perhaps not trails). And Maplewood, while not ordinarily a template for urban design, does actually have an awesome Living Streets policy, and at least a couple of good neighborhood streets that have been built under it. Those streets are dramatically narrower than we see in most of the metro; include sidewalk on at least one side; manage their own stormwater; and include lots of green space. That is a quantum leap above what almost any other city's standard design is. (Except perhaps the sidewalk on one vs. both side issue.)
