West Seattle online: New views via Google Maps’ Street View

(Google Street View car near WSB HQ in July 2011 – thanks to Tony for the reminder comment!)
Two people have mentioned this to us today so far, so we’re sharing it: Google Maps‘ “Street View” 360-degree photography apparently has been updated for West Seattle – so if you have a minute, you might want to go see if that goes for your neighborhood. We can attest to one change: For a LONG time, if you looked at the Google Street View for California/Edmunds in The Junction, you would have seen the West Seattle Summer Fest road-closure signs and tents … from three or four years ago. Now, it’s a clear view (see here).

Digidoll October 11, 2012 (3:49 pm)

Yeah, and it was garbage day in my ‘hood. Lovely houses, lovely day… with the streets lined with trash cans. Oh well. Another ten years.

Tony October 11, 2012 (4:34 pm)

I saw the Google car drive by my house on July 15, 2011 2:45pm .

WSB October 11, 2012 (4:43 pm)

Tony, thanks for the reminder! Now I remember that we ran TWO updates on it last July when it was sighted around West Seattle. Adding one of those photos to this item. – TR

Spooled October 11, 2012 (4:47 pm)

Looks like the images are about a year old (based on nearby construction progress) but very recently uploaded. I looked at my street earlier this week and it was the old pictures. Nice resolution.

Karma October 11, 2012 (5:23 pm)

I’m glad to see license plates have been blurred.

Faith4 October 11, 2012 (5:30 pm)

They must have gone by more than once as one time my car was not there. Another time it is showing me opening my car door, then getting stuff out of my car, then walking to the house. The deal shows everything that was in my car. Glad we have shades on the house windows! They have our alley as a street, rather than the street itself. Kind of disconcerting to have so much detail available to anyone that looks. I wish I had not been on the street that day. I’m wondering if they can fix and use the one where I was not on the street since they took so many pictures.

WSB October 11, 2012 (5:35 pm)

Faith – someone will probably be more concise and helpful than me but I do believe there is a way to contact Google to ask that something be removed or blurred, since they have had issues like that worldwide.

Faith4 October 11, 2012 (6:07 pm)

WSB – Thanks, I would hope so as it is quite uncomfortable with all they show. If someone knows how this can be corrected, please let us know. Thanks so much!!!

WSB October 11, 2012 (6:13 pm)

Looks like if you click “report a problem” from lower left of the map pages, and follow through on the pop-up, you will eventually get to a choice for “inappropriate content.”

AJP October 11, 2012 (6:33 pm)

Ugh, sadly they came by right before I painted my fence white, and there’s cardboard stuck under it all the way around! A week later and the house looked so cute!!!

JayDee October 11, 2012 (7:14 pm)

Last year my college-friends family were vacationing up here. We rode from here to Ballard on one of the rare sunny days during the summer of 2011 and as we were exiting the Locks, the Google camera car went by. Then later in deep Ballard, we saw the car again but my friends kids were prepared and goofed it up. I’ve been waiting for these images to upload. Thanks for the heads up.

ScottA October 11, 2012 (9:55 pm)

From the official Google maps blog:

“Today we’re making our Street View coverage more comprehensive than ever before by launching our biggest ever update–doubling our number of special collections and updating over 250,000 miles of roads around the world.”

http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2012/10/making-google-maps-more-comprehensive.html

dcn October 11, 2012 (10:29 pm)

I can tell from the size of the plants in front of my house that the new picture was taken a year ago during the summer.

Nitro October 11, 2012 (10:59 pm)

No image for our house.

Faith4 October 12, 2012 (5:40 am)

WSB – I did see the link to click on to report a problem on the map. They also have the map wrong as the map thinks the street is the alley, so addresses are in the alley instead of the street. I have used the “report a problem” link not only for this but to hopefully blur the personal – really don’t want the world to see – pictures. Interesting how they got at least 10 minutes of pictures as I thought they kept moving. It is like a still frame process as I unload my car from the point of the car not being there, to the car being there & my unloading it & literally everything in the car…even my beverage cups in the holder….that clear. Thanks for your help.

Sue October 12, 2012 (11:18 am)

The aerial views are definitely more recent than the street views. When I entered my WS office address, the aerial view shows my car in the alley parking lot. I only moved into there in February 2012.

Cranky Westie October 12, 2012 (5:40 pm)

PUT THE PIECES TOGETHER WEST SEATTLE! The “mysterious pumpkin devices”, the lights staying on at the stadium to attract UFOs, and now this invasion of peeping tom surveillance for something or other, fancifully called a “Google”? And what about the super intelligent coyotes that were accidentally released from the underground DOD animal testing facility (and secure safe house for Dick “Lord Chtulhulu” Cheney) located in the Pathfinder parking lot? Mere coincidence? Now put that together with the dual appearance of the the seals on Alki and the Marination Station? I am hiding in the laundry room. The coyotes are watching…..You must WATCH THE SKIES!