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Cyclists say the closing of the western half of the Lachine Canal bike path until July could put them at risk.

Parks Canada announced on Monday that a seven-kilometre stretch of the path, from De l’Église Ave. in the Sud­-Ouest borough to Du Musée Rd. in LaSalle, will be closed until the end of June for repairs to the lighting system and canal walls.

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It is instructing cyclists to detour to the Aqueduct bike path (along Champlain Blvd.) and LaSalle Blvd.

But some cyclists say the detour is so long, riders will end up using St-Patrick St., a dangerous, fast-moving artery with heavy truck traffic.

“This puts a big dent in my ability to ride,” said RJ Bachner, a bicycle mechanic at McWhinnie’s who commutes year-round by bike from Pointe St-Charles to Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.

Bachner usually uses the canal bike path as far as Dollard Ave. in LaSalle and then heads through Ville St-Pierre to N.D.G.

“There isn’t a decent detour that doesn’t put people significantly in danger,” he said.