It's not as terrifying as this subreddit makes it sound, this is just where all the bad/scary/crazy news and experiences tend to get concentrated- there's plenty of awesomeness to balance it out.

If you ever want somewhere to sunbathe on a nice day, check out the VMFA (Virginia Museum of Fine Arts) lawn. Sometimes there are a lot of people there but the atmosphere varies from quiet/peaceful/beautiful to busy/entertaining/beautiful. The Best Cafe inside the museum has food and drink you can take on the lawn as well, or sit on the patio, definitely not cheap but most museum cafes are at least a little overpriced.

My only word of warning: don't assume cars will stop at a pedestrian crosswalk unless they have a red light, even then you can't always trust people to stop.