A lot has happened since the Puget Sound Skatepark Association's inaugural meeting at Capitol Hill's Six Arms brewpub on January 18, where 30 people--mostly guys, mostly skateboarders (there at the behest of skater-website founder Jason Harrison)--decided to lobby for more skate parks in town and to save Ballard Skate Park, known as the Ballard Bowl. The city plans to build a new, grassy neighborhood park on the site.

For starters, the PSSA drafted a rebuttal to a Ballard Chamber of Commerce anti-skate-park letter and started gathering signatures on a "Save Ballard" petition. They've also been making their case at neighborhood meetings--at the Ballard District Council, at the Mayor's Youth Council, and at the Parks and Recreation board.

Individual folks have also been coping with the Man. Matt Johnston spent a Thursday recording noise levels at the Ballard Bowl as compared to nearby businesses, to refute opponents' claims that the park is obnoxiously loud. Turns out: A QFC loading area is louder. Kelly O'Neill--a thirtysomething roller-skater (and former roller-courier) who joined the PSSA after its first meeting--wrote letters to the city's Department of Neighborhoods and to city council. "The [PSSA] would love to lead a tour of [the Ballard Bowl] and discuss how the park benefits the community," she wrote, asking for time during the council's February 18 Ballard field trip. And some PSSA members got Ballard businesses--like Hattie's Hat and the Tractor Tavern--to sign letters of support.

The work is paying off. The city council added the Ballard Bowl to its tour agenda and the Department of Neighborhoods scheduled a meeting with the skaters. The Ballard Chamber of Commerce's Beth Miller--who penned the earlier letter opposing the Bowl--met the skaters halfway, offering to help write grants to build a skate park in a new location. The parks department also gave the PSSA encouraging news: There's a space at Green Lake that can be turned into a skate park. The skaters are hopeful, but conscious that the overtures might be an effort to squash the "Save Ballard" campaign. Until a new park materializes, PSSA leader Harrison cautioned his team to continue to "fight the fight for Ballard." Members spent the weekend collecting dozens of petition signatures.

amy@thestranger.com