To the editor:

Last fall, an individual from New York City came here to visit. He had a nice room at Hotel Saranac and took a walk to Grand Union on Church Street to get snacks. He remarked the prices there were above what he pays for the exact same items back home in NYC. NYC is the most expensive place to live in America.

I have a hunch: Many of the people who use Grand Union do not have access to a car and can’t go a mile away to go to Aldi. Aldi’s products are close enough to be the same items. Quaker oatmeal is not much different than Aldi’s oatmeal. Both take SNAP, etc. I also assume many of the customers are price conscious and would prefer to pay less. Aldi also has much more variety and is a bigger store. I think many Grand Union shoppers would be willing to go to Aldi instead if they had a way of getting there.

So, maybe an experiment is worthwhile? For a short period of time, the village of Saranac Lake might set up a free or low cost shuttle bus service from town to Aldi and back. It is highly unlikely people in town who have their own cars are going to wait for a bus. The number of riders might be a good rough metric.

A worthwhile idea for the politicians to explore?

Just a thought.

Ira Weinberg

Saranac Lake