Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/90018
Sarasota News Leader October 26, 2012 will be an exciting community to visit. I think that's really what we're doing, we're creating energy." If Monday, Oct. 22, was any indication, popular interest is profound. There is ample parking, but it was all full. A quick survey of license plates showed not all the cars were local. The skateboard park held more than 100 bicy- clists, skateboarders, scooters, in-line skaters and others on contraptions I had never seen before. Set under the U.S. 41 overpass, the complex even has shade, albeit noisy shade. The children's playground and nearby water park were jammed, from toddlers through middle-schoolers. Mothers watched from the shade as the children's imaginations ran free. As the sometimes-brick, sometimes-concrete sidewalk meanders along the river bank, an assortment of benches appear. Some are in the sun; some are under natural or artificial shade. Page 14 A student relaxed in something dubbed "the outdoor living room," with homework spread out in front of her. Other teens strolled by or relaxed on concrete loungers (more comfort- able than they sound). The park population on this day did not com- prise mostly kids, either. Seniors, some in wheelchairs, easily negotiated the wide path. A good breeze from the east kept everybody cool. Beyond the skateboard park, across the street, is a large veterans memorial arranged to make it easy to hold ceremonies. The names of men and military units are inscribed on granite benches. Riverwalk is not just something for everybody, it is a lot for everybody. Keeping it neat and tidy will be a real task for nearby residents and the Bradenton Police Department. All the fresh concrete begs for graffiti, but four nights after the opening I saw none. I did see a num- ber of lights and video cameras. Drumming along the river is a sound going back before the days of DeSoto, except these are stain- less steel drums.