Officials came up short in helping clean-up crews

THREE CHEERS for the city workers who cleaned the intersection of Commonwealth and Chestnut Hill avenues after the marathon. Not only did they do a good job, but they did their work under dangerous conditions.

Officials opened the intersection before the cleanup was completed. Consequently, clean-up crews found themselves in the middle of aggressive, bumper-to-bumper traffic. To their credit, they continued to remove debris from the middle of the road despite the obvious danger. But was it necessary for them to be placed in harm's way?

Only minutes before, there were scores of Boston police officers in the area. Once the roads were open, the officers dispersed and not one stayed behind to direct traffic. This was a major oversight - one that Mayor Tom Menino's office should not allow in the future.

NANCY WRIGHT
Brighton