West Seattle water views now part of Google Maps, along with Street View(s)

| Seen at sea | West Seattle news | West Seattle online

That’s a Google Street View mapping-photography car we spotted on eastbound Avalon at 35th this afternoon. Google’s 360-degree views from the road have been around for a while, but our sighting coincides with word we got this week that the mapping service is offering something new in our area: Water views.

A PR rep for Google Maps e-mailed WSB to say that West Seattle views on/from the water have recently gone live; the mapping service partnered with Coastwise Imaging, using the Trekker backpack system (you can see the equipment on the Coastwise site).

If you want to see the water views, you can click any of the following four links we were provided – Alki Beach (starting near Anchor/Luna Park), Alki Point, Duwamish Head (starts by Seacrest), and the Duwamish Waterway (starts near Terminal 5, with the image showing the Shell-related vessels that left two months ago) – among 20 Seattle waterway views now available via Google Maps.

JanS August 18, 2016 (2:31 am)

so…on the Google view of Duwamish Head, when you click on the photo on the bottom that says Don Armeni Boat Ramp, and do a 180 so you’re looking at the street, there are two trees in the foreground. Look to the left of the tree on the right. There is a “dismembered body, 2 feet, 2 ankles, and a shadow of sorts, but the rest of the body? Nope….gone…cue the Twilight Zone music….

miws August 18, 2016 (8:44 am)

Jan, my guess is some alien being beamed back up to the Mother Ship.

The reason I suspect beaming up, as opposed to an equal possibility that the being is in the process of being beamed down, is the shadow of the entire body is visible, suggesting the entire being had already been present.

Please note that this is pure speculation, as I am not a Science Officer, nor have I ever played one on TV.

Mike

Tony August 18, 2016 (9:34 am)

Very interesting. Thanks for reporting this, WSB.

WSB August 18, 2016 (9:40 am)

We get a lot of PR pitches – most don’t have West Seattle specifics, but this did, and it seemed notable, once I asked some followup questions (including who the PR person was working for – Google or the technology provider). I realize that for some it’s “cool!” and for some it’s “privacy invasion!” For us … it’s one more way, potentially, to augment a story … we are working on a report about a boat tour we took last week, and a few of these links will help illustrate the shoreline issue it addressed! – TR
- Lane August 19, 2016 (9:50 pm)
  
  WSB,
  
  Glad to hear that you and others are finding the content both interesting and useful. We at Coastwise are extremely interested in getting users impressions of the content and ways they envision using it. Similarly any recommendations for ways to make improvement or address concerns are welcome as our ultimate hope is to expand the project to other cities throughout the US.

Ron August 18, 2016 (3:23 pm)

So now everyone who lives there can look from their phones

Lane August 19, 2016 (10:07 pm)

All,

We at Coastwise would love to hear from any and all of you regarding your experience navigating through the West Seattle content. Our hope is that this project expands beyond Seattle as we feel there’s a number of exciting applications for this type of content but in order for that to happen we need to know exactly what you all find most interesting, useful or problematic.

Please feel free to reach out directly via our website or email and thanks for your interest!

http://www.coastwiseimaging.com/

info@coastwiseimaging.com

Sorry, comment time is over.