It’s private property, so why does Google Maps say this woman’s driveway is a road?

Friday, 19 September 2025

Nelson resident Janine Starks says her driveway is mistakenly included on Google Maps as a public road.

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The problem

After writing about a woman’s quest to have her road put on Google Maps, I heard from Nelson resident Janine Starks, who has been desperately trying to get her driveway taken off Google Maps.

“If you figured out how to add a street to Google Maps, do you know how to remove one?” Starks wrote.

When Starks moved into her Nelson home in 2022, she found herself bumping into strangers on her own property.

When she told them they were on private property, the strangers responded that according to Google Maps, the driveway was a public road.

Starks had a sign printed specifically to tell people that Google Maps was wrong.

Starks said that the strangers were typically tourists on their way to the beach at the bottom of her driveway. While Google Maps didn’t direct them down her driveway, it was a tempting shortcut.

When I looked on Google Maps, the driveway appeared as an unnamed road, about 200m in length, between Rocks Rd and Richardson St.

Despite Starks putting up a gate and a sign to say the land was private property, strangers kept coming.

“It was pretty funny when we first moved in as you meet all sorts of people, but it then gets really annoying,” Starks said.

While some of the strangers - which could number five per day - were apologetic, others were argumentative. Some even had the audacity to pinch lemons from her tree on their way past.

While Google Maps didn’t direct people down Starks’ driveway, it appeared as a public road and a tempting shortcut to the beach.

“They simply don’t believe Google can be wrong, even with shut gates.

“People have still claimed they can [use the driveway] because ‘Google said’.”

Why it matters

Given the driveway winds between her house and garage, some of the strangers who pass by end up walking quite close to Starks’ bedroom.

“A couple of drunks came right beside the bedroom window at 2am when I was home alone. Even though your brain tells you burglars don’t have loud conversations about sport, I was still shaking.”

It had become a “bit of a sport” for her neighbours, who would often holler at strangers from their decks to let them know they’re on private property.

“We have to be understanding as Google Maps tells them it’s OK, but I can’t believe the ones who duck under the gates or argue back with us.”

Starks said some people became argumentative when told they were on private property.

Having asked Google to remove her driveway from its maps with no response, Starks had taken matters into her own hands, offering passersby an apology on behalf of Google for its faux pas with a sign which reads: “Notice: Google Maps is wrong. Walk backwards. Google apologises.”

“I copied their Google Maps brand and had it professionally made for $70 online - at least people laugh but most ignore it as they’re too busy staring at their map app as they walk along,” Starks said.

Starks said the previous owners of the house “didn’t have a clue how to solve it” either.

Privacy

My colleague Paula Penfold recently wrote about a similar issue, of an Auckland man, “flabbergasted” to discover the Google Maps street view car had gone all the way down his shared driveway.

The resulting photos gave anyone looking a 360-degree view of his property.

“They have crossed the line between public and private property. They’ve come a significant distance onto our property and imaged everything,” the man said.

When he reported to Google that the driveway was private property, the street view images were removed.

While Google has not taken street view photos from Starks’ driveway, chairperson of the Privacy Foundation Katrine Evans said it was a privacy issue given Google Maps gave people the impression they were OK to use her land and intrude on her space.

While Starks could take steps to keep people off her property - such as installing bigger gates - she shouldn’t have to.

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“Why should she have to go to the trouble if Google Maps is the problem?

“You shouldn’t have to go to the expense to fix something that is plainly an error.”

Google had a responsibility to fix the error, however, it was typical of big tech companies to be slow to respond, Evans said.

“It takes a million years before something happens.”

Solved

I reached out to Google, asking why Starks’ driveway had not been removed from its maps despite her requests, and what evidence it needed from her to prove that the “road” was her private property.

Its communications and public affairs manager responded that they were looking into it and would come back to me.

In the meantime, I noticed that the way the road appeared on Google Maps had changed slightly.

And then, Google responded: “We can confirm that this has been removed from Maps - this change will be reflected in Maps in the coming days.”

I’m really pleased we could get this issue fixed for Starks, though it probably shouldn’t have taken a nudge from a journalist for Google to spring into action.

Starks was elated when I phoned to give her the good news.

“That’s brilliant. I’m so happy.

“I think I owe you a bottle of fizz, and so do all the neighbours.”

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Janine Starks has written financial columns for Stuff in the past.