If you take a look at trails around Bradford on Google Maps, you’ll see many trees, with some glimpses of pavement or gravel. You likely won’t be able to see swamps or ponds –– or much of anything else.
The Tuna Valley Trail Association is hoping to change that, providing individuals with 360-degree panoramic views of at least some of the trail system and its intricate features via Google’s Trekker program.
“The goal is to partner with Google to trek our trails, using their loaned equipment to video and GPS our trails so they show up on Google Mapping, much like Google Street View works,” said Linda Devlin, vice president of the Tuna Valley Trail Association and executive director of the Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau.
Google Maps launched its Street View program in 2007, amassing 360-degree panoramic images to make a more comprehensive digital world map. Street View imagery has been collected using cars, trikes, trolleys, snowmobiles, underwater cameras and a camel.
But those modes of travel only go so far. Google has a device called a Trekker, a backpack that has 15 cameras that people wear to capture images.
“We are at the very beginning of the project, and we are waiting on permission from some major landowners, such as the (Allegheny National Forest), before we proceed,” Devlin said.
On Tuesday, Bradford City Council authorized city officials to sign a letter of permission for Google or Tuna Valley Trail Association representatives to collect visual data for the community parks trail for GPS/mapping purposes.
“After land permissions are obtained, we will be back in touch with Google to begin to arrange dates,” Devlin said.
Once the association knows the date the equipment would be available to be loaned, members plan to figure out what trails would be completed, she said. Devlin said that volunteers would be enlisted as well.
“The equipment packs weigh 40 pounds, so it will involve a lot of coordination,” Devlin said.
The association has a mission to maintain trails throughout the Tuna Valley, providing recreational opportunities and connecting Tuna Valley trails with neighboring trail networks and communities.
For more information about the association, see http://tunavalleytrail.com/.
