Connectivity is the backbone of communities. Quality of life is often dictated by the access we have to different resources that keep us connected. At Connecting Windsor-Essex, we understand the importance of reliable and robust access and the benefits it brings to residents. This understanding inspires us to seek out innovative methods and partnerships to keep our communities connected, drive digital inclusion, and bridge the digital divide.
Our commitment to this mission is demonstrated by our recent Canada Community Revitalization Fund project, funded by the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) and supported by local technical delivery partners WaveDirect Telecommunications and Gosfield North Telecommunications. With an investment of more than $420,000 from FedDev Ontario, in-kind contributions from WaveDirect and Gosfield, and support from municipalities in the County of Essex, CWE has delivered free public wi-fi to 21 public parks and greenspaces in our region.
Installation is complete at all sites, and sites are now live. Each site has its own dedicated infrastructure that was installed on-time and on-budget by CWE’s local technical delivery partners. Site installation, maintenance, and service are all funded for several years by the contribution, ensuring no municipality is expected to incur direct costs for the duration of the project. Residents can connect to the site by selecting the network name on their device. An email is not collected, and a splash page is not used.
This first-of-its-kind project in our community provided an exciting opportunity to enhance public spaces across the Windsor-Essex region with free public wi-fi. As communities continue to recover from the devastating impact of COVID-19 while working to enhance the interconnectedness of main streets and public spaces, investments like this bring an added attraction. This investment provides the opportunity for residents to leverage greenspaces as an area to work, learn, and play. Small businesses and event organizers can activate these spaces, leveraging the newly available connectivity to facilitate e-ecommerce operations. Parents of children participating in sports can stay connected with their families.
The results of this project also serve as an example approach and methodology to other communities in southern Ontario to create a framework for what is possible when we collide connectivity and public spaces through the collaboration of government, non-profits, and local partners to revitalize downtowns, parks, and greenspaces in our regions.
At an event announcing the completion of this important community project, Irek Kusmierczyk, Member of Parliament for Windsor-Tecumseh, noted, “Residents look at Wi-Fi as infrastructure like roads.” He continued, “This is going to have a huge impact. Imagine festivals being hosted, gatherings being hosted, events being hosted, and people being able to connect in real-time. Imagine the spill-off effects for local businesses when someone comes here for a soccer game and they want to look at restaurants or businesses nearby. They’ll be able to tap into Wi-Fi and find those businesses locally as well.”
Warden of Essex County Hilda MacDonald, who was also present for the announcement, noted the project reaffirms the importance of quality of life for residents.
“Creating digital spaces, green spaces, in public spaces is so important. I think we really saw it during COVID when so many people didn’t have those connections,” said MacDonald, who is also the Mayor of Leamington.
“As I noted to CBC Windsor’s Amy Dodge when asked why parks are prioritized for connectivity, my answer was simple: being able to come together in public spaces, whether its small businesses trying to run some e-commerce operations, whether its parents attending sports tournaments and wanting to live stream all the action to Grandma and Grandpa, all of these kinds of things bring communities together and parks are that central place where people can come together, be part of their community, and drive some exciting initiatives.”
CWE believes that the opportunities created by converging connectivity and communities are truly endless. While we continue to pursue more of these opportunities, we invite you get connected next time you are at any of the following locations:
Co-An Park (McGregor); Colchester Beach Harbour; Harrow Arena; Essex Sports Complex; Leamington Kinsmen Baseball Diamonds and soccer fields; Mersea Park; Comber Community Park; Millen and Reg Chevalier parks in Woodslee; Lions Club, Optimist, Lakeview and Duck Creek parks in Belle River, as well as Lakeview Trail, Atlas Tube Centre, Belle River Marina and the townhall/community area in Belle River; Ridgeview, Rotary and William Street parks in Cottam.
