The General Assembly of North Carolina recently ratified Senate Bill 1598, which authorized the village of Pinehurst, along with a number of cities, counties and towns in the state, to regulate the operation of golf carts on any public street.

The village of Pinehurst has adopted an ordinance that effectively limits the use of these public streets to owners of golf carts who are golfing members of the Pinehurst Country Club and who will use said cart only to travel to the club for the stated reason of playing golf.

Members cannot use their carts to drive to the club when volunteering to serve in the various tournaments, to play tennis or to have lunch.

Furthermore, Detroit is working on producing electric automobiles. In light of the recent gasoline crises and for environmental reasons, why not allow any citizen of our village to own a golf cart and use it to go to the post office, the Holly Fair or the various "block parties" held all year?

I cannot believe that there is any village, state or federal law that would permit the use of village streets by golf carts owned by members of a semi-private country club to the exclusion of the rest of the residents. It is patently unfair and, in my opinion, unconstitutional.

William H. White

Pinehurst