Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s North Branch Framework plan is well on its way to bringing wide-ranging new developments to Chicago’s North Branch Industrial Corridor, but Lincoln Park residents are gathering together to demand a 15-acre park be a part of those development plans, according to DNAinfo.

Alderman Michele Smith (43rd Ward) previously proposed a new park for the for the Finkl Steel site. The park, which would have been accessible to the Bucktown, Logan Square, and West Town neighborhoods, was not included in the approved Framework ordinance.

Rendering Courtesy of the Department of Planning and Development

Now, Smith, along with the backing of several community organizations, has started a petition to call for a 15-acre park in the North Branch area. The petition has already gained more than 1,000 signatures, according to DNAinfo. 

The Sheffield Neighborhood Association is standing alongside Smith and urging its members to sign the petition. Other organizations supporting the petition include the Chicago City Soccer Club, the Chicago Sport and Social Club, Friends of the Parks, the Oz Park Baseball Association, the RANCH Triangle Association, and the Wrightwood Neighbors Association. 

"Our families, kids and teams need a place to play and unwind. We have joined with other individuals and groups to demand that the city set aside at least 15 contiguous acres of parkland with recreational fields in the industrial corridor," the Sheffield Neighborhood Association said in an email, according to DNAinfo. 

The City of Chicago owns an 18-acre Fleet Management lot at 1685 N. Throop St. While the petitioners are hoping this land could become a park, they may have their work cut out for them. DNAinfo reports that Emanuel is hoping to sell the land to developers. This transaction could mean a new Fleet Management lot would come to Englewood.