City to launch free park Wi-Fi program next week

A Sarasota pilot program will offer free Wi-Fi in four city parks. MLK Jr. Memorial Park will be the first when officials will cut the cord on Nov. 10.

By Andrew Warfield
| 1:10 p.m. November 4, 2022

Arlington Park is one of four in a pilot program to bring free Wi-Fi to Sarasota city parks. (File photo)

Sarasota
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Sarasota residents and visitors will soon be able to more easily use their devices for work or entertainment while visiting select city parks.

On Thursday, Nov. 10, neighborhood and city leaders will hold a cord-cutting ceremony at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park, the first in a pilot program to offer free Wi-Fi to park guests. The park is at 2523 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way.

It will be the first of four city parks in the program. Bayfront Park will be activated in early December, followed shortly thereafter by Arlington Park and Payne Park.

“This will enhance quality of life for residents and visitors alike,” said City Commissioner Hagen Brody, who proposed the idea to the City Commission in 2021. “COVID-19 kick-started the initiative to bring broadband connectivity to public locations in our community. Having free Wi-Fi in the parks will support and encourage families to be outside and enjoy the fresh air while doing homework or conducting business.”

The $470,000 pilot program is funded by American Rescue Plan dollars.

author

Andrew Warfield

Andrew Warfield is the Sarasota Observer city reporter. He is a four-decade veteran of print media. A Florida native, he has spent most of his career in the Carolinas as a writer and editor, nearly a decade as co-founder and editor of a community newspaper in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.