BOISE, Idaho — Ann Morrison, Julia Davis, and Cecil Andrus parks could have free public Wi-Fi as early as fall 2023, according to the City of Boise Parks and Recreation Director Doug Holloway.
The city has a budget of $2.3 million. The city will only cover $300,000 while American Rescue Act Funds (ARPA) will cover the remaining costs. The city's Information Technology (IT) department attributes the high triacetate to the sheer size and scale of the parks - noting Ann Morrison, Julia Davis Park specifically.
"Those parks in the downtown core are the most visible and also the most highly utilized," Holloway said. "Without [ARPA], we're probably still talking about when we can connect our parks. With that funding, it pushed that over the top. [Mayor Lauren McLean] wanted to make connecting our parks [to internet] a priority out of that ARPA funding the city received."
The Wi-Fi will be available for anyone who wants to use it; however, it will serve as an important utility to the city and the large events hosted at these parks. IT is tasked with setting up temporary internet infrastructure for events that call for such service.
"Oh my gosh, that was so hard," IT Infrastructure Manager Adam Reno said. "We'd spend about two weeks setting all that up. Wireless, network switches, connectivity, back to the internet, etcetera. Then, the event would happen. We come back and spend two days tearing it all down. That's just for one event. Repeat that for however many events that we had and it just became a nightmare."
The free Wi-Fi will also provide the city with an opportunity to create and interactive resources for park visitors.
"We can use augmented reality to create opportunities for our residents to come in the park and learn more about the park. Without having a brochure in your hand, you can live the reality in that park through that platform," Holloway said.
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