Toyota Provides Free Public Wi-Fi at Six City Parks in Los Angeles, Four State Parks in New York, and One State Park in New Jersey

August 18, 2014 /3BL Media/ – The City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks today announced that, thanks to Toyota and American Park Network, free public Wi-Fi is now available at six popular Los Angeles parks and beaches. This comes on the heels of a similar announcement last week by authorities in New York State of a program in four highly-visited parks there, as well as one in New Jersey.

The free service, called Oh, Ranger! Wi-Fi™, is part of a pilot program made possible through the generous support of the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid. All of the equipment, including installation, is being provided at no cost to taxpayers as a function of this public-private partnership between the Parks Departments, Toyota and American Park Network.

This program represents the first time Wi-Fi has been installed in Los Angeles city parks and is a small but meaningful step towards providing free, universal access to wireless broadband throughout all of Los Angeles.

Oh, Ranger! Wi-Fi™ is currently available at six of the most iconic, highly visited city parks throughout Los Angeles. Locations include the Griffith Observatory and the tremendously popular Venice Beach, which alone receives an estimated 16 million visitors annually. The parks that are participating in the first phase of this pilot program are: Venice Beach, Pershing Square, Griffith Observatory, Cabrillo Beach, Echo Park Lake and Reseda Park.

In New York, free Wi-Fi is now available to the public in Niagara Falls, Jones Beach, Saratoga Spa and East River State Parks. Collectively, the four parks welcome more than 18 million visitors each year, and account for thirty percent of total visitation across the New York State Park system. Meanwhile, the service is also available at Liberty State Park in New Jersey.
 
Latest research indicates that smart devices are being relied on more than ever, which is growing the demand for Wi-Fi availability in public areas. Last year the International Data Corporation (IDC) in collaboration with Facebook issued a study on smartphone usage and identified that 79% of 18-44 year olds have smartphones with them 22 hours a day. In a separate survey conducted by Hotel Chatter, 94% of people cited Wi-Fi as the most important amenity when booking in the hospitality and lodging industry.
 
“We’re thrilled to partner with American Park Network and the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks to help make Oh, Ranger! Wi-Fi™ a reality for the visitors who attend these six tremendously popular parks here in Los Angeles,” said Dionne Colvin-Lovely, National Director, Traditional and Digital Media, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. “Supporting the needs of parks and their visitors is a perfect fit for the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid, we particularly welcome the opportunity to make a difference, here, in our own backyard, by improving the park going experience for Angelenos throughout the city.”
 
Visitors at the participating parks will be able to access the Wi-Fi in two easy steps. Users simply select “Oh, Ranger! Wi-Fi™” under available Wi-Fi networks on their smart device, then accept the standard terms and conditions, and they’ll be on their way to free Internet access.  
 
“It’s really rewarding to work with such collaborative partners as Toyota and LA Parks,” said Mark Saferstein, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief at American Park Network.  “It’s rare to have a chance to positively impact the lives of so many people. We feel great about providing a new service that will make our parks even more accessible to the next generation of custodians who will care for these special places.” 

  ###   About the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks
The Department of Recreation and Parks maintains over 16,000 acres of parkland with over 430 neighborhood and regional parks, 184 recreation centers and facilities, 368 children’s play areas, 321 tennis courts, 256  ball fields, 31 senior centers, 13 golf courses, nine dog parks, 23 skate parks, 61 swimming pools, 12 museums and an urban forest of one million trees and 92 miles of hiking trails. The Department also provides after school enrichment programs for children and teens including music, dance, and athletic programs. For more information about the Department of Recreation and Parks, please visit www.laparks.org.

About Toyota
Toyota, the world’s top automaker and creator of the Prius, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands. Over the past 50 years, we’ve built more than 25 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ nearly 40,000 people (more than 37,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships sold more than 2.23 million cars and trucks in 2013 – and about 80 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 20 years are still on the road today.
 
Toyota partners with philanthropic organizations across the country, with a focus on education, safety and the environment. As part of this commitment, we share the company’s extensive know-how garnered from building great cars and trucks to help community organizations and other nonprofits expand their ability to do good. (NYSE: TM) For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.
 
About American Park Network
American Park Network is a leading provider of information about parks and public lands. Oh, Ranger! Wi-Fi™ is one of many ways the company helps connect people with the great outdoors. For more than 25 years, American Park Network’s ubiquitous little green Oh, Ranger! trip planning guides have been a trusted resource, distributed for free through a nationwide network of parks, campgrounds and tourism destinations. The company’s free mobile app, Oh, Ranger! ParkFinder™, searches the company’s proprietary database of 60,000+ parks to help users find parks with their favorite activities. American Park Network’s mission to connect people to public lands has led the team to forge unique public/private partnerships to enable the development of tools to serve the public good. For more information about American Park Network, please visit OhRanger.com.

Media Contacts

Rose Watson
Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks
213-202-2694

Mark Saferstein
American Park Network
212-581-3380
 
Nick Ammazzalorso
Saatchi LA for Toyota
310-214-6200