Making a busy junction in Caversham safer for pedestrians will be a ‘number one priority’ for road improvements in the coming years.
Neighbours have been requesting safe crossings at the meeting point of three roads in Caversham since 2017.
Called ‘The Last Crumb junction’ after the pub, it joins Prospect Street and Henley Road with Westfield Road and Peppard Road.
While the junction is controlled by traffic lights, there is no dedicated pedestrian crossing or ‘all reds’ traffic light sequence giving people time to cross.
This has led neighbours to say crossing the road is like ‘playing Russian roulette’.
People have petitioned Reading Borough Council to establish safe crossings in November 2017, November 2022 and September last year.
Delivery of the project is complicated as council officers predict changes will cost £500,000.
But the introduction of safety measures has been described as a ‘number one priority’ during a Q&A session at a recent council meeting.
Councillor Jacopo Lanzoni (Labour, Caversham) said: “I was frustrated that, during the 14 years of Conservative government, local authorities were left without the financial resources to provide their residents with the traffic management measures they need to use our highways safely as pedestrians, as cyclists and as drivers.
“The frustration became satisfaction when, in November 2025, the Labour government unveiled its first multi-year finance settlement for local authorities in a decade.
“Just last month, the council approved an ambitious and visionary budget, which would not have been possible without this Labour government.
“As part of the budget, the capital programme for 2026/27 to 2030/31 includes £6 million for local traffic management and road safety measures.”
He then asked whether the capital programme would facilitate the requested safer crossings at The Last Crumb junction.
The question was answered by John Ennis, the lead councillor for transport.
The council has secured £100,000 from the 223‑home Emmer Green Drive development, approved in March 2022, to improve safety at the junction, but this is still short of the £500,000 required.
Therefore, it will seek further contributions from developers, including a proposed £150,000 payment tied to plans for an additional 70 homes at Emmer Green Drive.
Cllr Ennis (Labour, Southcote) said: “I fully understand residents’ frustrations with the time it can take to deliver much-needed highway improvements.
“The council keeps a borough-wide list of requested changes, regularly reported to the traffic management sub-committee, covering important schemes aimed at improving accessibility, the local environment and road safety.
“I would like to thank local petitioners and ward councillors, for consistently highlighting the need for controlled pedestrian crossings at ‘Last Crumb’ junction.
“This request is already on this list and helped secure a ring-fenced developer contribution for improvements there.
“We are clear as a Labour council that The Last Crumb junction improvements is number one on our priority list and that we have identified funding for the improvements to the junction, which will be complex and will take time to get right for local residents as pedestrians and road users.”
The answer was given at the council’s policy committee meeting on Monday, March 18.
Cllr Lanzoni is standing for the 2026 borough council elections, which will be held on Thursday, May 7.
