Downtown Ballard will likely be getting a brand-new park with direct access to the Lake Washington Ship Canal.

Legislation is working its way through the review process that would allow the Seattle Parks Department to acquire the land at the south end of 24th Avenue Northwest from the Seattle Department of Transportation.

Dewey Potter, spokesperson for the Parks Department, said the legislation should transfer jurisdiction of the land by late spring, at which point the department will begin working with the community on ideas for the look and use of the space.

The park site is located between the vacant Yankee Diner, slated to become the Point Hotel at Salmon Bay, and the Pacific Fishermen Shipyard. It currently contains a dock, a bench and minimal landscaping.

The Seattle City Council passed a resolution in 1996 that created guidelines for street ends stating that the best use of these sites is for public use.

According to the resolution, the use of these sites as public spaces cannot conflict with existing marine-related commercial and industrial activities.

Ballard has a number of public, street-end parks already, including the highly-used public boat ramp on the south end of 14th Avenue Northwest.