This version is, in many ways, what I originally wanted to do with the site, but could not due to various technical limitations at the time. It also includes social media aspects which reflect the increasing willingness of people to connect and interact on line.

BristolStreets has always had transport information at its heart because transport is a big quality of life issue. Most people spend quite a lot of time travelling and commuting but roads, traffic and public transport also impact people and places they pass.

This new version offers bus information like never before. It is now possible to see all bus stops and all bus routes at the same time and to quickly see where you can go from a location simply by clicking on the map. The reach of the bus data has also increased thanks to the “open data” that the government has made available. Bus routes are shown over a much wider area now and almost any conceivable bus journey you would want to take to or from Bristol is covered.

Cycling is a very important and popular travel mode in Bristol. Many of you have generously added comments to the Cycling City layer that has been on BristolStreets since 2008. This layer has been frozen to new comments but all of the input is still visible in a new format in the new version. There is however a new layer to help Bristol City Council formulate its 20 year plan for improvements to the cycle network.

There will be many more layers coming in the near future, but it just made sense to get this new version out.

BristolStreets has started lots of conversations and created opportunities. But I realise there has been far too little dialog with the people who use the site every day. The real hope with the latest version is that there will be an ongoing conversation by lots of the site users, on the map, through the other social media channels connected with the site and through direct contacts.

Bristol City Council needs your help to define the strategic cycle network and help to identify the priorities for investment over the next twenty years.

All of our existing road network (with the exception of the M32) is important for cycling but we need define what roads and paths are more important to you for your everyday journeys in order to:

• Inform future investment in cycling; and
• Maximise benefits through planning activities, other transport projects and neighbourhood initiatives.

To date Bristol City Council has invested in the radial route network– the routes in and out of the city centre. We now need to define other key routes that link the many destinations around the city.

A new cycle network tool has been added to BristolStreets.co.uk. Through this online mapping facility we have defined the main journey attractors around the city (such as local centres, stations, workplaces and schools). We have then joined these centres up into a spider web of possible links. For each of these links we are seeking to define the best route possible and get an idea of what improvements need to be made. This is where we need your help and local knowledge.

We need you to identify where improvements need to be made on the ground. The tool lets you draw new routes, leave notes and comments and allows for discussion similar to a social network.

This website will be taking comments until 31 March 2012. We will then use the information you provide to define the cycle network. We will then be able to identify and prioritise the works that are needed over the next twenty years.

For more information, contact betterbybike@bristol.gov.uk

Please note that you are currently on the BristolStreets website and not the Bristol City Council website. Facebook comments below are not part of the consultation. The contact form goes to BristolStreets and not to the Bristol City Council.