Kitchener adding city trails and parks to Google Street View this summer

The City of Kitchener is adding its trails and parks to Google Street View this summer togive people theoption to explorethemvirtually before they head out.

Courtney Zinnlab director atthe City of Kitchener's Innovation Lab, hopes the project will give peoplea chance to discover new trails andfill in some gapswhen planning their trips.

"Unless other people have contributed other imagery, you're only really getting to the entry points," she said.

"We saw this as an opportunity to capture the ground level imagery and give people a chance to understand what the trail is like. Is it shady? Is it sunny? Are there seating areas or rest points?"

With more people doing things virtually because of the pandemic,Zinn said giving the community a chance to view the trails online has become a priority.

You may notice an orange tricycle on trails

Uploading the trails to Google Street Viewwill be agradual processthroughoutJune untilAugust, starting with trails that are maintained throughout thewinter.

Peoplemay spot University of Guelph's computer science student Zhelong Chen ona bright orange tricycle during those months. He's tasked with capturing all of the city's 125 km of trails using a special 360 degree camera mounted onhis helmet.

Chen said he's never been on this type oftricycle before. The trike is electric, which helps him with steep trails and the fat tires help navigate difficult terrain.

Chen sees this experience as more than asummer job. Throughout the summer he hopes toreconnect with people and his former love for cyclingwhile exploring Kitchener.

"I was a road cyclist and mountain biker for a long time," he said.

"I would like to find my old self back. I would also like to take this opportunity to explore the city of Kitchener as it is a new city, a fresh city for me. I've never been here before this job."

Recording in session

Once Chenpicks up the trike from city hall and maps outs what trails he'll be visiting that day, part of his routineis to set up signs at eachentry point tonotify people that active recording is taking place alongthe trail.

The back of the trike also has a sign to notify people as he cycles by.

"A lot of people are interested and very curious about what I'm doing," he said.

"Most people are really friendly."

Zinn said they'reworkingwith the city's privacy team to make sure the project meets the requirements for privacy once the images are collected, such as blurringout faces and vehicle licence plates.

In addition to Google Street View, Zinn said people can also check out the trailson the citywebsite under the trails and parks section.