Google Street View vows to come back when Windsor 'looks its best'
Other visits by photo car captured overgrown parks and picket lines during 2009 CUPE strike
Smile, Windsor. You're not on camera anymore.
Google Street View has agreed to stop camera crews from rolling through Windsor's streets until mountains of flood debris have been cleared to avoid a repeat of the debacle that saw the tech giant snap pictures of garbage-strewn streets during the height of a 2009 strike by city workers.
Mayor Drew Dilkens has asked the company to put the brakes on its specially-equipped photo car, which has recently been spotted on city streets, which are pocked by piles of flood-damaged goods following the flooding that hit more than 6,000 basements August 29.
"We don't want those pictures up on Google and we certainly reached out to Google already and said would you mind pausing until we can collect the garbage and then come back and finish the job?" said Dilkens Tuesday.
The recent flood isn't the first time Google's timing was less then postcard perfect.
The Google Maps crew drove through the city during the long, hot summer of 2009, when the city was embroiled in a 101-day municipal strike.
During those weeks when workers were not collecting trash or maintaining city property, Google cameras captured images of the mess, along with picket lines and protests.
Murder scene captured on Google camera
The car also snapped photos of a bloody crime scene outside of Leopard's Lounge, a strip club near downtown Windsor. After the company was alerted, it took down the image and replaced it with a black box.
This time, a company spokesperson said they're willing to leave their Windsor tour for a later date.
"We are actively working with the Mayor's office to ensure Windsor looks its best on Street View," wrote Alexandra Hunnings in a statement sent to CBC News.
Dilkens said Google's bad timing was "ironic" and that he appreciated the company's willingness, then and now, to do what it could to capture the city's good side.