David Johnston's July 4 letter relative to golf cart liberalization by the village made considerable sense to me.

Now that Chief Davis and City Manager Wilkison have beaten golf cart owners into gestapoesque submission, their decision has had some downside implications. Mr. Johnston's proposal to charge a modest fee for licensure is workable and not too onerous.

I believe our hyper-restricted cart route imposed by the village, plus increasing gas prices, has caused residents to rethink trips to our village for dinner, lunch and shopping.

We used to use our cart to go to lunch often, and we used it for viewing parades or visiting friends. But now the heavy-handed, unilateral decision to allow carts for use "...to and from the golf club only," has prohibited us from making such innocent trips.

This can't be a positive for village merchants or residents. Given that a 25-mph speed limit exists throughout Pinehurst, risk of an accident remains minor and hardly a safety issue.

Moreover, as a casual bicyclist and cart owner, I am befuddled by the fact that cyclists are allowed to criss-cross 15-501, Page Road, N.C. 1 and 2 with impunity, yet cart owners are forbidden to consider such travel. This is also true of unlicensed scooters with less than 50cc engines. How can these vehicles provide more safety than a golf cart? That logic makes no sense.

We chose to live in Pinehurst because it represented small-town America, with a lifestyle of world-class golf, relaxed dining and shopping, but recent unilateral decisions by our officials have tarnished that lifestyle and detracted from our nirvana. This casual lifestyle can again exist if we all work in a collaborative effort.

Gilbert A. Valdez, Pinehurst