John LaPlante, engineer who helped fix Chicago’s “Z-Curve,” dies from COVID-19
John LaPlante, a longtime city employee who served as the first commissioner of the Chicago Department of Transportation, died Saturday at 80 after testing positive for the novel coronavirus less than two weeks earlier. The son of a Cook County judge and the head librarian for the Chicago Public Schools, Mr. LaPlante was a “municipally minded” Roseland native who cared deeply about his city and its government, according to his daughter Leslie.
LaPlante worked for the City of Chicago for over 30 years, starting as an intern in the 1960s for what was then the city’s department of public works. He served as chief traffic engineer in the 1980s and as the city’s Transportation Commissioner in 1992.
While working as the chief engineer, LaPlante helped to rework the infamous “Z curve” that plagued Lake Shore Drive for decades. Throughout his long career as a public servant, LaPlante worked to support and institute “Complete Streets” and other pedestrianization improvements in the built environment.
After retiring from the public sector, LaPlante worked for transportation engineers T.Y. Lin International for many years, retiring in 2015.
