SAN FRANCISCO—Mayor Lee and Supervisor Mark Farrell announced on Tuesday, October 1 the launch of the City’ free municipal wireless internet access (Wi-Fi) in Parks project at 32 parks, plazas, and open spaces throughout the region.
“Wi-Fi in our City’s parks is another step toward a larger vision of connectivity for our City as a whole, bridging the digital divide and ensuring that our diverse communities have access to innovation,” said Mayor Lee. “This project is a top priority for my administration because of the endless benefits that free Wi-Fi will bring to the residents and visitors of San Francisco. Thank you to Supervisor Farrell, Google and sf.citi for their truly innovative public-private partnership to connect our residents in new ways.”
According to a press release from the Mayor’s website, Supervisor Farrell has been working for the past two years on ways to expand free Wi-Fi throughout the city. He partnered with the San Francisco Citizens Initiative for Technology and Innovation (sf.citi) to make the project reality.
“This first project builds on a larger vision to bring free Wi-Fi access to every resident in San Francisco, in every corner of the City,” said Supervisor Farrell. “San Francisco is the center of innovation and technology, and providing free Internet access in our parks, plazas and open spaces is the first step in a broader vision to deliver free Wi-Fi to every resident in our City. Locations like the Tenderloin Rec Center are a great example of how this project will help bridge the digital divide, as community groups and non-profits who regularly utilize this space can now take advantage of Internet access where it did not exist before.
Google assisted with the projected by providing a $608,000 grant that funded the initiative and the San Francisco Department of Technology installed and will maintain the network and service.
“Google is happy to provide the funding for free WiFi in San Francisco parks,” said Google Public Policy and Government Affairs Manager Rebecca Prozan. “This network will make the web more accessible than ever for thousands of our neighbors— getting online is as easy as heading to the local park. Now when Karl the Fog rolls into Marina Green, San Franciscans can check the sun’s status in Alamo Square without using their data plans.”
“San Francisco is the hub of technology innovation and has a leadership role in leveling the playing field when it comes to access to the internet,” said Acting Chief Information Officer Miguel Gamiño. “Powering up parks across San Francisco with #SFWiFi gets us closer to bridging the digital divide by allowing the public to explore apps, share images and access City services on a free and robust WiFi network.”
The increase in Wi-Fi accessibility to SF parks and plazas allow communities with limited Internet access to have accessibility, and it also helps heighten government efficiency by providing the City’s Recreation and Park Department staff the tools to manage recreation centers and community programs.
“SF Rec and Park is pleased the community broadband network will be the newest addition to our improved park amenities,” said Recreation and Park General Manager Phil Ginsburg. “The network will create new ways for the public to enjoy our parks.”
Currently, the entire Market Street corridor beginning in the Castro neighborhood and stopping at The Embarcadero has free pubic internet access.
Residents can gain access to the free Wi-Fi network by connecting to the #SFWiFi network. To learn more information, go to: www.sfgov.org/SFWiFi.
The entire list of the 32 parks, plazas and open spaces that will have free Wi-Fi can be found on Supervisor Mark Farrell’s Board of Supervisor’s website at: http://www.sfbos.org/index.aspx?page=15191.
By LaDale Anderson
