Free Wi-Fi to be offered at 5 Detroit parks

(CBS DETROIT) – Detroiters will be able to access Wi-Fi at five parks as part of a new pilot project. 

The Detroit Parks Coalition, the city of Detroit and Connect 313 announced a pilot project in which public Wi-Fi networks will be installed at Brandby, Chandler, Clark, McDuffy and Palmer Parks.

The project is made possible through $265,000 in grants from the Detroit Pistons, Rocket Community Fund and Knight Foundation. This funding will provide the installation, five years of services by Cronus Internet and charging stations in each park. 

“We are proud to be part of a partnership that has so significantly increased digital inclusion in Detroit – taking the city from one of the least digitally connected in 2019 to now being a model of what is possible,” said Laura Grannemann, Chair of the Connect 313 Board and Executive Director of the Rocket Community Fund. “It is fitting that Palmer Park, the home of the Rocket Mortgage Classic where Connect 313 was first established in 2020, is the first park to install this vital technology. Increasing access to Wi-Fi in public spaces like these five parks is a major part of the path forward to a more connected and equitable city.”

Wi-Fi installation will begin immediately and go through fall 2023.