"What is that pole?" (Virtual Lunch & Learn)

Registration required: Zoom

Presenter:  Lance Alley, City of Lewiston

Municipalities struggle to maintain detailed GIS records of utility pole locations, especially with field staff and non-GIS users struggling to access and visualize this information. This project demonstrates a lightweight workflow that uses the Google Maps Platform APIs to generate URL links for individual utility poles, providing one-click access to street-level views of each asset. Pole locations stored in a GIS are exported with their coordinates and unique IDs. A Python-based process then constructs standardized Street View URLs using latitude/longitude pairs and optional parameters such as zoom level, heading, and pitch. These URLs are written back into the feature class and exposed in web maps, work orders, inspection forms, and reports.

By leveraging familiar Google Maps tools and the latest 2025 imagery, this workflow reduces training requirements and improved cross-department communication. Our field crews can open precise pole locations on their mobile devices, verify asset positions, plan access routes, and visually confirm surrounding conditions before arriving on site. The approach is scalable to tens of thousands of poles, requires minimal infrastructure, and can be adapted to other point-based assets such as hydrants, valves, or manholes. Overall, this method offers a simple and low-cost way to verify and update asset data.