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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 23 Fact Book / Doing Business in Maine Q UA L I T Y O F L I F E and car-free living. Over the past decade the couple's Redfern Properties has developed seven apartment buildings and three condo complexes on the penin- sula, 800 housing units in all. Redfern's latest project is the 18-story Casco com- plex, on the corner of Federal and Temple Streets, where there are 263 apartments — and no parking spaces. ere is indoor storage for some 80 bikes and a host of other amenities designed to make inner-city living without four wheels easy. A fully equipped 1,600-square-foot fitness room negates the need to travel to a gym, and there are two 2,000-square-foot lounges, one for working, and the top floor space is for socializing and admiring the view. All units have wash- ers and dryers, and there's trash and recycling service. Additionally, a new food mart is about to open in the building, adjacent to a nearly completed 5,000-square-foot outdoor park — with a fountain. What about grocery shopping? Jonathan Culley says the majority of his tenants — many of whom work in town — have groceries delivered. "Or once a week they Uber to the store at a cost of maybe $20, so that's $80 a month, versus owning a car which costs between $700 and $800 a month with insurance, repairs and car payments. Having a car is a huge expense," he says. Tom Nosal, who lives on Munjoy Hill, fig- ures he's saved at least $130,000 over the 16 years he's lived car-free, while reducing his impact on the planet. Nosal is a project engineer with Toole Design and focuses on building safe and accessible infrastructure for cities. He and his wife chose to live without a car for years and enjoyed biking and riding the bus from their home on Munjoy Hill to work, the grocery store, and to social events. e couple in fact got married on the Eastern Promenade and then led a 50-member bike parade to their reception at Bunker Brewing in the Libbytown neighborhood, with drivers and bystanders cheering them on. ey reluctantly purchased a car earlier this year, but only because their daycare moved from Portland to South Portland. Nosal still bikes his toddler over the bridge to daycare as often as he can, and uses the car only when absolutely necessary. Rain doesn't stop him from biking to Hannaford for groceries. Nosal says his life is immeasurably richer, and more fun, on a bike. "I invariably run into friends on my route and we stop and chat," Nosal says. "And when riding the bus with our son, people are so happy to see a baby; we talk. ere's so much more connection than when driving a car. And it's so much more interest- ing for our son, than what he'd experience in a car seat where he can't see anything." How safe is it to bike around Greater Portland? Nosal notes that riding in Portland can be treacherous; he was rear-ended once on the corner of India and Congress streets, and feels the city needs to do much more to improve safety for bikers and pedestrians. Tom Ruff, who owns Orange Bike Brewery in the Bayside neighborhood, is an ardent biker and commutes to and from his home in Cape Elizabeth. He also makes beer deliveries to restaurants around town on his electric cargo bike and is working on creating a dedicated bike delivery fleet. "It's scary out there. Every morning crossing the Casco Bay Bridge, I look down and see 40% to 50% of drivers on their phones. I was nearly taken out in the bike lane and now ride on the pedestrian path, which is legal, only to get yelled at for not being in the bike lane. If folks saw what I see every day, they might understand," Ruff says. "e city's infrastructure is not designed with bikers in mind. Most streets lack clearly marked or protected bike lanes, and the ones that do exist often disappear without warning or force you into fast-moving traffic. It becomes a daily risk assess- ment just to get from point A to B. I love this city, but we can and must do better." Ruff bikes for exercise and to lower his carbon footprint. "But most of all, it's the joy. Biking clears my head, inspires me and gives me a sense of freedom that driving doesn't," he says. "Biking keeps me grounded and connected — to the city, to the environment, and to my community. But if we want Portland to truly be a bikeable city, we need to stop treating cycling like a fringe life- style and start treating it like real, practical, everyday transportation. Infrastructure follows priorities — and right now, our priorities are off." Tom Nosal often bikes his son and a friend over the Casco Bay Bridge to daycare in South Portland. Tom Ruff, owner of Orange Bike Brewery, often delivers product around town on his cargo bike. C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F T O M R U F F P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F T O M N O S A L

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