This narrow strip of concrete along McRae Street in Wilmington marks what would have been an intersection with North 10th Street, had that section of the street ever been built. Until recently that section of North 10th Street – which exists only on paper – had appeared on Google Maps. It has since been removed. (StarNews photo by Jim Ware)
The reader adds that on Google Maps “there is a portion of North 10th Street that comes off of McRae Street near the Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway off-ramp, but it does not exist when you drive by it. Is there anything on that street left from another era?”
And the answer:
The street shown on Google Maps could have been generated from an older centerline file that Google would have obtained from the New Hanover County Geographic Information System, said Donald Bennett, city of Wilmington traffic engineer.
“We refer to these streets as ‘paper streets.’ They are based on old surveys that may have designated rights of way for proposed streets that were never constructed,” Bennett said.
“This particular street, or its right of way, no longer exists in the city’s GIS,” Bennett added.
More information and road history may be found in the North Carolina Room at the New Hanover County Library, Bennett said.
View North 10th Street in a larger map
Date posted: August 15, 2011
User-contributed question by:
chaz
When you open Google maps, and zoom to an area there is a Report a Problem tab in lower right corner of screen. Click it and follow instructions to report corrections.