Google Maps Street View

[kphoger]

Somewhere in west Texas, there is a street view of the Google driver stopped at a rest area, taking a picture of the landscape.  I'd have to root around in my PC to find the image, though.

[kphoger]

OK, I found my pictures.  Here's my Google street view fun.....

[NE2]

Second Google guy gets out to look at the camera: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=67.336951,-134.881897&spn=0.118264,0.528374&gl=us&vpsrc=6&t=m&z=12&layer=c&cbll=67.337068,-134.881906&panoid=hslZo6TwGAwKRAKaaImF2w&cbp=12,45.61,,1,9.15

[empirestate]

Wow, those cars take a beating, huh? Kinda surprised they don't use something more substantial in such remote areas.

[roadman65]

Hey what is up on the Tobin Bridge in MA?  Try getting the street view along NB US 1, as soon as you reach the Little Mystic River Bridge (the smaller Warren Truss span) it takes you upstairs to the Southbound Lanes.  Matter of fact, it shows two lines for both levels, but you click on either one and you end up on the upper level.  I was trying to see what the lower level looks like underneath the toll plaza, but it will not let you do it.

[Alps]

Hey what is up on the Tobin Bridge in MA?  Try getting the street view along NB US 1, as soon as you reach the Little Mystic River Bridge (the smaller Warren Truss span) it takes you upstairs to the Southbound Lanes.  Matter of fact, it shows two lines for both levels, but you click on either one and you end up on the upper level.  I was trying to see what the lower level looks like underneath the toll plaza, but it will not let you do it.

They have problems when it comes to bridges and tunnels, especially when double decked. But even in two or three distinct tubes they'll jump between tunnels.

[empirestate]

Doesn't have to be a bridge or tunnel...they'll get confused with any closely space alignments, and Street View has no concept of grade separation either. It's easy to jump from one level to another going through even the simplest of interchanges. Interestingly, while they'll shunt you to the same carriageway no matter which side of a divided highway you select, they'll likewise flop you back and forth between sides of what is ostensibly a single-barrel highway.

[Michael]

Google Maps posted a link to a Street View survey on Facebook a few hours ago.  I made the comment that some imagery is of poor quality, and some is even pitch black (I'm assuming it was taken at night).

[Alex]

How often do GSV cars drive up and down every aisle at a shopping center?

http://goo.gl/maps/cnlGA

Do they adhere to the NAVTEQ data that adds vectors for mobile home parks, shopping center aisles, etc. without question? 

[okroads]

How often do GSV cars drive up and down every aisle at a shopping center?

http://goo.gl/maps/cnlGA

Do they adhere to the NAVTEQ data that adds vectors for mobile home parks, shopping center aisles, etc. without question? 

The only high-quality street view images in the OKC Metro area is in an Academy Sports & Outdoors parking lot in Edmond: http://goo.gl/maps/g0VmK. So it has happened before.

[WNYroadgeek]

They've started doing indoor Street Views: http://maps.google.com/?ll=42.980246,-78.827287&spn=0.004811,0.006899&t=m&layer=c&cbll=42.980246,-78.827287&panoid=sGAGTRdxBrgp0m2y-n2hNg&cbp=12,309.49,,0,2.12&z=17

[WillWeaverRVA]

They've started doing indoor Street Views: http://maps.google.com/?ll=42.980246,-78.827287&spn=0.004811,0.006899&t=m&layer=c&cbll=42.980246,-78.827287&panoid=sGAGTRdxBrgp0m2y-n2hNg&cbp=12,309.49,,0,2.12&z=17

Yeah, they announced that about a year ago, there was an open call for photographers with 360-degree capable equipment. It's basically meant to be a way for businesses to promote themselves. (And this particular one interests me, they've got some good stuff. Shame I'm nowhere near it. )

[kphoger]

Sweet!  The Midway Islands are on Street View.

[Mr Downtown]

I've recently learned of a very useful resource:
http://www.instantstreetview.com/
You just start typing an address and it jumps to it, rather than requiring you to navigate in through the map service.  Half the fun is having it jump various places around the country based on the partial address you've typed.

[Dr Frankenstein]

There's more... https://maps.google.ca/?ll=44.499566,-80.306625&spn=0.042792,0.104628&t=m&z=14&layer=c&cbll=44.500019,-80.316085&panoid=rQkLwF4AvXKjl1KfiGLgpA&cbp=12,30.12,,0,-0.81

[A.J. Bertin]

This has been a fun discussion to read. I love Street View, and like others, I often take virtual road trips from my desk at home or on my lunch hour at work. It's a blast!

For traveling, it's nice to scout the area in advance with Street View and then recognize it in person. Thanks for all the fun pictures and helpful resources!

[kphoger]

Sweet!  The Midway Islands are on Street View.

Including runway coverage!
This is not a crosswalk.

[andrewkbrown]

Inside the White House, one can explore the interior. The camera appears to be mounted on a wheeled cart pushed by the photographer, as seen in this view.

https://maps.google.com/?ll=38.897738,-77.034481&spn=0.004509,0.010568&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=38.897738,-77.036507&panoid=bt51vp8AYmU5Y1HJf5HIlA&cbp=12,271.34,,1,3.66

This was one of the few clear photos I could find of the actual camera. Most of the time, when the camera apparatus passes a mirror, Google Maps blurs it out.

[roadman65]

I like the fact that you can go see what Busch Gardens is like within the park.  I was impressed that Busch Entertainment, or who owns it now, allowed it
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Tampa,+FL&hl=en&ll=28.035253,-82.421376&spn=0.00482,0.010568&sll=28.417774,-81.581219&sspn=0.004841,0.010568&oq=tam&t=h&hnear=Tampa,+Hillsborough,+Florida&z=17&layer=c&cbll=28.035363,-82.42143&panoid=zZA1qCK4WAl7_mOESUQgxg&cbp=12,164.09,,0,0

Unfortunately, Disney does not allow it just like local news are not allowed to film coverage inside the resort.  All Disney related things are shown with a reporter standing on FL 535 at the Disney entrance with sign in the backround along with footage of the story.

[cpzilliacus]

Doesn't have to be a bridge or tunnel...they'll get confused with any closely space alignments, and Street View has no concept of grade separation either. It's easy to jump from one level to another going through even the simplest of interchanges. Interestingly, while they'll shunt you to the same carriageway no matter which side of a divided highway you select, they'll likewise flop you back and forth between sides of what is ostensibly a single-barrel highway.

Yeah, the GSV "stops" and "jumps across" when it approaches the George Washington Bridge from either side - even on the upper deck of the crossing.

But it is possible to "drive across" Maryland's Chesapeake Bay Bridge in both directions in GSV.  Added bonus - the westbound side was apparently imaged in the afternoon peak period, with eastbound traffic running in what is usually the westbound left lane.

Annoyingly, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel was only imaged northbound (with quite a few gaps), and it was (apparently) run when the conditions were very foggy, so it is not possible to get a feel of the scale of the facility - and just how cool this magnificent crossing is.

[Stratuscaster]

"Staging" scenes for GSV is quite popular, as found in this tour of a store in France might suggest. Make sure to go through the entire store - and go out to the street and come back in, too.

https://maps.google.fr/maps?q=Krakatoa&hl=fr&sll=44.883004,6.625085&layer=c&cid=5250865211998137208&panoid=uvzxz5gcpUvejlo68yh1ZQ&cbp=13,255.04,,0,16.55&gl=FR&hq=Krakatoa&t=m&cbll=44.883017,6.624978&ie=UTF8&hnear=&ll=44.883003,6.625019&spn=0.001555,0.004128&source=embed

[webfil]

Sweet!  The Midway Islands are on Street View.

Including runway coverage!
This is not a crosswalk.

BULZAI!
-That Japanese pilot

[kphoger]

Doesn't have to be a bridge or tunnel...they'll get confused with any closely space alignments, and Street View has no concept of grade separation either. It's easy to jump from one level to another going through even the simplest of interchanges. Interestingly, while they'll shunt you to the same carriageway no matter which side of a divided highway you select, they'll likewise flop you back and forth between sides of what is ostensibly a single-barrel highway.

Yeah, the GSV "stops" and "jumps across" when it approaches the George Washington Bridge from either side - even on the upper deck of the crossing.

But it is possible to "drive across" Maryland's Chesapeake Bay Bridge in both directions in GSV.  Added bonus - the westbound side was apparently imaged in the afternoon peak period, with eastbound traffic running in what is usually the westbound left lane.

Annoyingly, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel was only imaged northbound (with quite a few gaps), and it was (apparently) run when the conditions were very foggy, so it is not possible to get a feel of the scale of the facility - and just how cool this magnificent crossing is.

We recently had similar problems at work.  The cable techs of ours who drive company trucks have GPS units on board, and they have speeding alerts set up.  Some places, it's a blanket 80 mph cap:  no alerts are sent out until the driver hits 81 mph.  But, in other places, there's a 10-mph-over-the-limit cap.

Now, the program we use to track speed has many roads' speed limits on file, but others just use the historical average speed of other users of the same program as its "speed limit".  Those are usually ignored by management, and no one's too quick to do a write-up on it, because they don't actually know by the alert what the actual speed limit is.  But, when someone is going 60 mph in a posted 30-mph zone, you can believe they jump on that!  And that's exactly what happened:  they got multiple alerts from the same driver that he was going 60 in a 30.

He challenged it.  When they looked into it further, they found out he was actually on a highway.  But, when he would cross over a minor street on a bridge, the program would momentarily switch to the speed limit for the minor street underneath instead.

[roadman65]

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Carteret,+NJ&hl=en&ll=40.780005,-74.052229&spn=0.007003,0.013797&sll=27.698638,-83.804601&sspn=8.300816,14.128418&oq=carter&hnear=Carteret,+Middlesex,+New+Jersey&t=m&z=16&layer=c&cbll=40.780155,-74.052348&panoid=GnAHTCs-Wpar0k5Liz6YPQ&cbp=12,315,,0,-0.11

GSV captured NJ 495 during morning rush hour, when the Exclusive Bus Lane was in use.  Even if you jump back and forth between the two sides, it seems both captions (EB and WB) were both done during the XBL use.

[jp the roadgeek]

A couple of things I noticed.  First, the street view shots of my street end 3 lots before where my house is.  I can see down the street past my house, but not a detailed shot.  I can tell it was shot during a local festival because the parking lot down my street was packed with cars, and it's really the only time that the lot is totally full.  Second, the coverage at border crossings is spotty. For example, I'll scan along one road up to the US/Canadian border, then it jumps about a half mile past the border into the other country.