An area of Shinfield dubbed ‘the path to nowhere’ has finally been completed, and was opened last weekend by a woman involved in a nearby accident.
The walkway, alongside Shinfield’s Hyde End Lane, previously started at Ryeish Lane but stopped abruptly before Fullbrook Avenue. Pedestrians were then forced to walk in the single-lane road.
Wokingham Today featured the story on our front page in September 2023, and one resident has suggested that exposure resulted in the path being completed.
Resident Paul Steele told Wokingham Today: “ I am pleased to let you know that after many months of wrangling, and with financial support from Shinfield Parish Council and Wokingham Borough Council, we have managed to get the path completed.
“The path to nowhere is now a path to somewhere.”
He said that the completion of the patch would have been possible without Wokingham Today publishing the story on the front page, and making Wokingham Borough Council accountable.
He also thanked the more than 400 residents who signed a petition calling for action.
“Hopefully, we have prevented another person being knocked over like Helen Bouchami was.
In January 2023, 76-year-old Helen was knocked down by a car while walking on the road. As the driver swung his vehicle around a corner, she described its wing mirror hitting her in the midriff, bouncing off its side and being thrust onto the ground.
At the time, she said: “I’ve often been alarmed by cars, and especially large vehicles, passing too fast and too close.
“The lane is used by walkers, dog walkers, horse riders, parents with pushchairs, cyclists, including children.”
