Today we mourn the loss of John LaPlante, who passed away this weekend as a result of COVID-19. John was an inspiration to many of us at Toole Design and throughout the active transportation community. His quiet, thoughtful, and respectful demeanor belied a fierce determination to protect and serve the most vulnerable road users, usually well away from the limelight. John understood better than anyone how to play the inside game, devoting countless hours to the thankless tasks associated with rewriting the rule books (the AASHTO Green Book and the Federal Highway Administration’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, for example). We extend our condolences to his family and commit to continuing the work that was so important to him for so long.
The Chicago Sun-Times and StreetsBlog Chicago have more on John’s extraordinary life and work.
