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Kevin Schlauch has had enough close calls with vehicles while biking along 5th Street S.W.

A cyclist who lives in the Beltline neighbourhood, Schlauch bikes to and from work each day, making use of the city’s downtown cycle track network. But he’s had to make adjustments to his daily route because of what he calls a small, yet dangerous stretch where the path suddenly breaks.

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That’s along 5th Street, where the track ends at 17th Avenue.

To Schlauch, whose commute then takes him about 10 blocks south to the Elbow River Pathway, the lack of cycling infrastructure in between is troublesome.

“That is a treacherous stretch,” he said of the area, which spans less than a kilometre. “It’s the area I’ve come the closest to getting hit by vehicles.”

Schlauch has launched a petition asking the city to connect the 5th Street track south past 17th Avenue to the river pathway. He said the extension would be a “no-brainer.”