Four new free public Wi-Fi zones available in Vieux-Gatineau
Djeneba Dosso
L’Association des Gens d’Affaires et Professionnels du Vieux Gatineau is launching a new project that will give Gatineau residents access to free Wi-Fi in public spaces.
On Tuesday October 10, AGAP announced the launch of their new project Zone d’accès public du Vieux-Gatineau during a press conference held at their office at 330, rue Notre Dame. The business association’s president Daniel Baril described the project as an initiative that will aid the dynamization and development of the neighbourhood’s atmospheric streets.
“After several months of discussion, consultation, preparation, identification of partners and mapped designs, we are delighted to launch Vieux-Gatineau's new public access zone, aptly named ZAPVG; a collective project costing $79,600,” he added.
The four designated zones will encompass the commercial portions of Main and Notre-Dame streets, Notre-Dame Place et Lavictoire park. Each zone will benefit from free public Wi-Fi to encourage citizens to participate in the appropriation of public space, encourage active travel on foot or by bike and optimize the discovery of urban revitalization circuits.
In order to maximize the use of the new service, ZAPVG put a strong emphasis on making the access to public Wi-Fi simple for all.
“To access the Wi-Fi zone, people have to come to our streets or the park,” explained AGAP’s director Pauline Bouchard. “To connect, they have to spot the little ZAPVG mascot, either as a sticker, poster or large sign in shop windows, [after that] all they have to do is scan the QR code on ZAP’s belly, and the connection is automatic.”
Posters and stickers will be placed on shop windows to support local shops and services while attracting new businesses to the area. The idea is to transform Main and Notre-Dame street’s commercial sectors into mall shopping centres but in the open air as part of ZAPVG’s deployment of four season programming.
This initiative is the first phase of ZAPVG’s three-year plan, scheduled to be carried out from October 2023 to October 2026 to revitalize Vieux-Gatineau’s business and commerce sector.
Honorary Chairman, Mathieu Lévesque believes this first phase “will promote greater accessibility and is essential for inclusion.”
“Digital technologies are part of our daily lives and the arrival of Vieux-Gatineau in the area of public connectivity represents an essential service to the commercial vitality of the area,” he said. “For the local population, the installation of free public Wi-Fi terminals will enable wider access to online services and activities. For shops and businesses in the area, it’s an effective way of attracting and retaining customers.”
Lévesque confirmed an injection of $16,500 into the project. The City of Gatineau’s contribution is $44,577 as part of their COVID-Dynamization Fund. Other private and public partners include Éric Mathieu of l’Imprimerie Grégoire, co-owner of the commercial building on 395 Main St. Patrice Poulin, Yannick Dompierre of RPGL Avocats, Caroline Massé of Centre depédiatrie sociale de Gatineau, Jacques de Bellefeuille of l'Amicale des personnes handicapées physiques de l'Outaouais, and Gérald Émery from l'Église de la Nouvelle-Alliance.
Photo caption: On Tuesday October 10th, AGAP held a press conference to announce the launch of their new project ZAPVG. Giving access to and pouring resources into public zones in four key areas of Vieux-Gatineau, phase one of the three-year plan will consist of the installation of free public Wi-Fi in each zone. As pictured, AGAP’s president, director, partners and Honourary Chairman were all in attendance to reveal the project.
Photo credit: Djeneba Dosso