Remembering Herb Hiller

“The Alliance has been unusually receptive to bold thinking. Just the idea of a multi-use path that connects Maine with Florida – to get people out of cars for short distances, for trail access to transit, for long distance vacationing – has to be one of the best ideas for binding a fractured America together.”

Herb Hiller shared these insights in 2016, and they remain just as relevant – if not more so – today.

A longtime trail advocate and East Coast Greenway Alliance consultant, Hiller passed away peacefully at his home in Acworth, Georgia, on Feb. 3. As described by his family, he lived an “offbeat, authentic and interesting” 93 years.

“I am a better person for having known and worked with the wonderful and tenacious force that was Herb Hiller. All of us at the Greenway Alliance  give thanks for knowing Herb and for his decades of service to the East Coast Greenway and our communities. His remarkable work has laid the foundation for safe and fun biking and walking for everyone to enjoy in the Sunshine State and beyond,” said Executive Director Dennis Markatos-Soriano.

A passionate bicycling advocate, Hiller was highly respected for his years of dedicated work on tourism, bicycling and trail projects in Florida. During a decade as the Alliance’s point person in Florida and Georgia, Hiller was instrumental in establishing the 260-mile St. Johns River-to-Sea Loop, which was adopted as an East Coast Greenway complementary route and part of the SUN Trail network, “a statewide system of high-priority (strategic) paved trail corridors for bicyclists and pedestrians.”

“His enormous experience and great connections in Florida allowed him to link up with key Florida players at the state, county and local levels that helped tremendously to raise our profile within the state,” said former Alliance Executive Director Karen Votava, who welcomed Hiller to the Alliance team in 2006. 

 Hiller’s leadership in the region also led to a key partnership between the Alliance and the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Coalition. The Greenway traverses the historically-significant Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor between Wilmington, North Carolina, and Armstrong, Florida. 

Hiller created productive relationships between the Alliance and Florida’s Department of Transportation and the Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Greenways and Trails. The East Coast Greenway spans more than 600 miles in Florida, making it the longest state in our 3,000-mile system. The Greenway in Florida is now more than 40% paved, off-road, multi-use path. 

In Georgia, Herb collaborated with Jo Hickson, then-executive director of the Coastal Georgia Greenway, which evolved into the East Coast Greenway route in the state. Several stretches are now completed and more are in the planning pipeline.

Votava added, “Herb brought big-picture thinking into East Coast Greenway Alliance policy discussions. I found him to be one of our most thoughtful and innovative staff members, and he always contributed unique ideas to our thinking about strategy. He was a mentor to all of us and I will always treasure the opportunity to have worked beside Herb.”

In addition to leading bicycle tours throughout Florida, Hiller was a passionate writer. He authored several books about Florida and contributed stories to The Atlantic, National Geographic Traveler, Florida Trend and Miami Today.

He was born in New York City and graduated from Harvard Law School. 

“I will miss Herb’s smile, his stories and his wit. And we will do our best to keep his spirit alive throughout our corridor in the decades ahead,” Markatos-Soriano added. 

A celebration of Hiller’s life is planned for March 15 in Palatka, Florida. Please click here to RSVP or send a message.