LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A ribbon cutting is set for Saturday, Nov. 18 for Alberta O. Jones Park. But before it’s “grand opening,” the Parks Alliance of Louisville and Stock Yards Bank & Trust are sharing, it will be the first park in west Louisville with free high-speed wi-fi.
The 5G connection will be accessible through the entire park and can be used not only by park visitors but also by community groups hosting events at the park. The internet service is a gift from the bank to help create new opportunities for families in Louisville’s California neighborhood.
“It has long been a dream of the Parks Alliance to provide high-speed internet in public parks located in wi-fi deserts,” said Brooke Pardue, President and CEO, Parks Alliance of Louisville.
According to Internet for All, a National Telecommunications and Information Administration program, one in five households is not connected to the internet.
Phil Poindexter, President, Stock Yards Bank & Trust said, “By providing Wi-Fi to the community in and around the California neighborhood, we are allowing for more people to be connected to each other and to necessary resources. Nowadays, the internet is not a luxury—it’s a necessity.”
The grand opening for the park happens at 3:30 p.m. at 744 S. 23rd Street. Alberta O. Jones Park honors the first Black woman to pass the Kentucky Bar Exam. Jones was a trailblazing attorney from west Louisville. She negotiated the first contract for boxer Cassius Clay, who later became Muhammad Ali. She was a prosecutor in the Louisville Domestic Relations Court and was also a civil rights activist who took part in the March on Washington. Jones created the Independent Voters Association of Louisville and taught Black Louisvillians how to vote, which lead to 6,00 new voters. In 1965 Jones was murdered. Her case is unsolved.
The new park was named in her honor after a community-wide “Name Your Park” survey.