In his July 4 letter, David Berliner describes the new rumble strips on Route 202/9 between Hopkinton and Hillsboro as "one more obstacle to be avoided" and asks, "Who's looking out for cyclists?"

Many of us would like to think that our Department of Transportation would be looking out for the interests of all road users, not just those of distracted, sleepy and intoxicated drivers.

DOT might have known that shoulder mounted rumble strips can have an undesirable impact on bicyclists. A Google search of the words "cyclists" and "rumble strips" yields over 39,000 websites, including several that are hosted by the Federal Highway Administration and other state departments of transportation. Many of those sites describe rumble strip solutions that have reduced run-off-the-road crashes and that are acceptable to cyclists.

The DOT can be forgiven if its engineers are not personally aware of the difficulties bicyclists face as a result of its efforts to address problems faced by motorists. But would it be asking too much for the department to utilize its own Bicycle Advisory Board for knowledgeable input on such projects?

The board includes representatives of organized cycling groups, such as the Granite State Wheelmen, Seacoast Area Bike Routes and the Bike-Walk Alliance of New Hampshire. Surely, those individuals are capable of alerting the DOT when it is about to make a mistake like the one that showed up on Route 202/9 last week.

According to those who know, the board was not consulted on this or any other rumble strip project. It has not even met since November.

DICK LEMIEUX

Concord