City explores adding Wi-Fi to parks

If you want to explore the wonders of the natural world while simultaneously keeping tabs on the decidedly more artificial realm of the internet, you might soon be in luck.

Mayor Hagen Brody is working with city staff on options for adding Wi-Fi service to public parks. Although the city is still in an exploratory phase, Brody mentioned Arlington Park, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park, Payne Park and the forthcoming The Bay Sarasota site as possible options for an initial wave of internet infrastructure.

Offering Wi-Fi for city park visitors isn’t a new concept. Former Commissioner Shelli Freeland Eddie, whose term on the board expired in 2020, repeatedly pushed for conducting further research on adding Wi-Fi to parks, stating younger members of the community had expressed an interest in such an endeavor. Brody said his desire to prioritize free internet access was a response to the changing way people use the city’s recreational properties.

“I think we’re keeping up with the technological reality of the demands of our residents,” Brody said. “I think it’s a nice amenity to offer at our public parks — in addition to the other amenities.”

Through a spokesperson, the city declined to make a staff member available for comment about Wi-Fi in parks. In February, the city’s Parks, Recreational and Environmental Protection Advisory Board discussed the prospective initiative. Board member Mary Fuerst said she read about the concept in the newspaper, and she was concerned the topic was not brought before the advisory group for consideration. Fuerst said her preliminary independent research triggered some questions about the costs and limitations of free Wi-Fi, as well as some guidance from outside experts about best practices for public internet service.

The board asked staff to present some additional information about the city’s plans at a future meeting.

“I think we need to consider it,” Fuerst said. “I think we need to consider how we’re going to pay for it. I would hope the City Commission would come talk to us about it.”

Brody said he believed some of the federal COVID-19 relief funds the city received could be used to expand broadband internet access, and he hoped to explore the topic further as the commission puts together a budget for fiscal year 2022.