Sacramento Hopes To Lure More Visitors To Parks By Installing Free Wi-Fi
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The city of Sacramento is using a new strategy to lure people to public parks: free Wi-Fi.
On Thursday, it announced in a statement that visitors to Fremont Park can stay connected without gobbling up their data between sunrise and sunset. A city spokesperson said the free Wi-Fi is part of a public/private partnership with Verizon -- available only during hours of operation.
The city said it hopes this move encourages people to spend more time in city parks as they aim to bring free Wi-Fi to 26 other parks across all council districts in Sacramento.
Fremont Park (credit: Google Maps)
"In today's increasingly connected world, accessing the internet is a big part of social experiences," said Councilmember Steve Hansen, whose district includes Fremont Park. "Providing free public Wi-Fi at our parks and community centers helps increase access to City services, activate community spaces and increase social connectivity among residents."
To access the service, park visitors will have to select "CITY-PARK-FREE-WIFI" on their mobile devices and agree to the terms and conditions.
Work is underway to put Wi-Fi in at Brooks Truitt Bark Park (1818 Q. St.), Carl Johnston Park (213 Eleanor Ave.). and the Bill Conlin Youth Sports Complex (7895 Freeport Blvd.). The other 23 parks in Sacramento are slated to be Wi-Fi-ready by the end of 2020.
The partnership between the city and Verizon is also facilitating the deployment of 5G in the city.