RANDY METCALF/Arizona Daily Wildcat Dave Peters works on water tubing for the air-conditioning unit that will be placed inside the new Panda Express in the Park Student Union tomorrow. The PSU is still behind schedule, despite the official opening of the food court.

After being renovated for conflicts with disability codes, the Park Student Union remains unfinished in large part because the new construction still does not meet disability standards.

"There have been delays, but we have design problems and we're trying to work them out," said Roger Hart, supervisor of Core Construction.

The main reason for the delay is that sidewalks have not been put in place because of flaws in the design of ramps for the disabled, said Rick Marsh, PSU construction project manager.

The designs for the slopes are steeper than the 2 percent grade designated by the American Disability Association. With a slope that has a steep angle, people in wheelchairs will not be able to access businesses, Marsh said.

About half of the concrete in the courtyard had to be taken out because of the design flaw. The sidewalks across the south end of the building will not be put in place until the design is corrected, Marsh said.

Bill Freedman, president of ADA, said it is important to protect disabled people's right to access businesses.

"I would like to encourage students at the University of Arizona · to take an active interest in making their university accessible," he said.

Minor fixes, like sprinklers and thumbprints on the walls, also need to be looked at, so completion of the building has been pushed back to a later date.

"I wish it hadn't happened; it doesn't make it easier for anybody," said Marsh, who predicts that the building will be completely done by the end of April.

In addition to the delays in the general construction of the building, many retail businesses that have hired their own subcontractors are also experiencing setbacks on their opening dates.

The businesses' subcontractors do not work on the same schedule as Core Construction, the general contractor for PSU.

Retail stores hire separate subcontractors because they want their business on the UA campus.

Tamara De Stefanis, program director of PSU, said that she hoped Breugger's Bagels and Panda Express would open this week.

However, the UofA BookStore and Domino's Pizza will not be opened this week.

The completion of the UofA Bookstore did not have top priority since some areas, like the food court, needed to be finished on time to best serve the students.

Construction for the bookstore has also been delayed due to limited funds.

"We had very tight budgets to work with, and we were trying to avoid making hasty decisions that might have the wrong ramifications," said Frank Farias, director of the UofA BookStore.

In addition, Farias said the UofA BookStore has missed opening dates in the fall of 2003 and this month. According to Farias, those are two of the biggest opportunities for the bookstore to serve students, so there would be no need to rush things now.

Domino's Pizza will not open for another four or five weeks; however, the pizza shop has set up a cart stand for the past two weeks to sell personal pies to students.

Adam Wright, a Domino's employee, said they have had about 50 customers since the cart service has been at PSU. Wright said he thinks that the way PSU looks has prevented students from coming.

"They should have been more prepared," said Steven Sontag, another Domino's employee. "It seems like they rushed it."

Valerie Giordano, a creative writing freshman, works at the Park Place Convenience Store and said the food stop has not received much business.

"It's been so slow," said Giordano.

Despite the lack of customers at Domino's and the convenience store, many students feel that construction has not deterred them from going to PSU to grab a snack.

Upstairs, the PSU food court was filled with students at night who were looking to fill their stomachs.

Jennifer Barger, an undeclared freshman who lives in Coronado Residence Hall, said the construction didn't bother her.

"It's definitely more convenient to go to the Park Student Union," she said.

Business freshman Mark Goodman, who also lives at Coronado and has been to PSU twice, said he believes the construction workers are doing their job.

"They're trying to get it done. I just wish all the (restaurants) would be open," he said.