It’s even easier to find your way around Scranton, now that street-level photographic images of the city are available on Google Maps’ Street View feature. Using Street View, visitors to our area or even newly minted Scrantonians can get a feel for what it’s like to drive or walk down our streets.
In an article titled “NEPA Goes Global on Google” in Saturday’s Scranton Times-Tribune, staff writer Laura Legere described the benefits of Street View: “Google touts the program’s practical uses: it can help travelers preview landmarks on the way to a destination, shoppers discover if there are parking meters in front of a store, and homebuyers can peek at the neighborhood around a promising house.”
To use Google Street View, just go to Google Maps at www.maps.google.com. Search for an address you’re interested in, and then click on the orange stick figure right above the zoom bar on the left hand side of the map. You can drag the stick figure to “fly” over the streets, or just click on it to get into a full Street View image. Once you’re in Street View, use your mouse or arrow keys to navigate through the entire 360-degree view. As usual, if you need help using Street View, just ask one of the friendly librarians at the Weinberg Memorial Library for help!
You might notice that not all addresses or streets that you view in Google Maps have Street View images available – that’s because Google hasn’t yet photographed *all* of the streets in the Scranton area. While West Scranton is well represented, and major roads throughout the area are visible, downtown Scranton, the Hill section, and the University campus aren’t in Street View at this time. Google is constantly updating their maps, though, so keep your eyes open for Google cars on campus – you can spot them by the large cameras mounted on their roofs.
