I live on the Northside and I love to walk downtown to IronHill or BrownsCow with my wife and 2 year old son. We have to walk all the way down Dayton street and High Street and it is no problem. Some of the buildings are in bad shape, some because of the fire a couple of months ago, and that can give a bad impression. But I've never had a problem walking. Also, if you're walking on a Friday/Saturday then the sidewalk and streets are so busy you're hardly ever "alone".