When the first visitors stroll the mile-and-a-quarter length of Bradenton's beautiful new Riverwalk on Oct. 18, it will be a proud day for lead designers James Pankonin and Bill Waddill of consulting firm Kimley-Horn and Associates. The duo started work on the master plan for the waterfront public space 2 ½ years ago, with input from Bradenton's Downtown Development Authority (which funded the $6.2 million project), Realize Bradenton, and the public. "The main goal is to keep people downtown after work and on weekends, so we tried to keep it flexible for all sorts of events" says Pankonin —from concerts to skateboarding to just going fishing.