On November 1, the City of Lee's Summit - partnered with the Lee's Summit Economic Development Council, the Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Lee's Summit Main Street - launched the first phase of Wi-Fi Lee's Summit, which brings free high-speed wireless internet access to Downtown. Since going live, approximately 25 people have used the service each day.
"We chose downtown Lee's Summit for the first phase of Wi-Fi Lee's Summit to complement the revitalization efforts," says Randy Dickey, Chief Technology Officer for the City whose team is overseeing this initiative. "We conducted extensive research with peer communities and found Lee's Summit to be very progressive. There are only a few other shopping areas that offer free Wi-Fi in the Kansas City metro area such as the Legends at Village West and the Plaza, and many are on a very limited basis."
The current coverage area is from SE 2nd St. to SE 5th St., and SE Jefferson St. to SE Green St. Dickey and his team are starting to work on phase two of Wi-Fi Lee's Summit, which will extend coverage further towards Jefferson and to 5th street - ultimately covering twelve blocks of Downtown Lee's Summit. He expects the expansion will be complete by the end of 2008, weather permitting. Future plans may include extending free Wi-Fi to Lee's Summit Parks and Recreation facilities like Legacy Park.
The free Wi-Fi service provides downtown patrons with two hours of free internet connection each day. The City is working closely with the Downtown Lee's Summit merchants to promote the program to consumers and is asking merchants to host repeaters to boost the connectivity inside their shops and restaurants. For more information about Wi-Fi Lee's Summit, visit http://lees-summit.mo.us/wifi/LSHome.cfm.
