David Hiller, the bright and sometimes confrontational advocacy director for Cascade Bicycle Club, announced his resignation Thursday on the club's website.

"It's been eight years of being on the front lines. I've had to take a lot of abuse. Other times, it's just hard work," he told the Times. Hiller, 41, said he plans to work on a house he just bought on Seattle's Beacon Hill, then look for other employment. He started work for Cascade in 2003, and previously was with the Connecticut Bicycle Coalition.

Hiller ranked behind only Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn as a lightning rod for people who resent bicycle activism. But in recent months Hiller has taken a lower profile, lobbying in Olympia for bike and pedestrian issues.

Hiller said he hopes to volunteer with Cascade and give advice. "Maybe I'll even ride the STP one day," he said on the blog. Normally, Hiller sets up the Seattle starting area and works in a support vehicle during the annual July ride to Portland.

The club has more than 13,000 members and wields some clout in local politics.

Hiller and other Cascade members worked alongside Seattle officials who produced
the 2007 Bicycle Master Plan, which called for 19 new miles of trails, 118 miles of bike lanes, overpasses, bike parking and directional signs.

At one point, when the city seemed to backpedal on plans for bike lanes on Stone Way North, he warned that then-Mayor Greg Nickels would seem hypocritical and in "the dark ages of traffic engineering," unless the city followed through, which it did. He also has advocated for the proposed "missing link" project in Ballard, where bicyclists run a dangerous gantlet and local industries object to mixing trails with trucks.

This year, a state "vulnerable user" bill finally passed, SB 5326, to toughen penalties for motorists who negligently kill bicyclists or pedestrians. That win made it easier to leave his position now, Hiller said Thursday.

Some hyperbole from Hiller, about wishing he could hang such drivers by their toenails, was quoted in The Stranger last year, and contributed to a tempest within Cascade. Executive Director Chuck Ayers was fired, then temporarily rehired, as an outcry by Ayers backers led several board members to resign and new ones to win election.

The club is "on a solid foundation, has got a good board of directors and good staff. It's not going to miss a beat," Hiller said.
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