Don’t drive to the University Police station – there’s no place to park.

During the redesign of the Wirtz Quadrangle, NIU planners eliminated the five metered parking spaces and three of the spaces for UP squad cars in front of the police station.

And the police are not happy.

“We’re disappointed,” said UP Chief James Elliot. “People need access to the police station. If somebody wants to whip in and report a crime, there isn’t anywhere to park.”

Elliot said the UPs told planners early on they were worried about few parking spaces, but other officials preferred natural green space rather than asphalt parking spaces.

“When we made the original presentation on the Wirtz Quadrangle more than a year ago, there was more parking,” said Patricia Hewitt, associate vice president for Business and Operations.

But Jon Dalton, former vice president for Student Affairs and other NIU officials wanted a landscaped quadrangle – so the parking spaces were nixed, Hewitt said.

The lack of parking could spell more trouble than it’s worth, Hewitt said. The extra time UPs take to get to their cars could delay needed action in cases of emergency, she explained.

Planners disagree, however. Patricia Perkins, assistant vice president for Finance and Planning, said limiting the parking is good.

“One of the primary reasons for the reconfiguration of the Wirtz Quadrangle is the pedestrian and vehicular conflict,” she said.

Perkins said heavy student traffic through the area mandated reducing the number of cars. “We tried to keep everything but service vehicles out of that area,” she said.

However, cars still can use Wirtz Drive although the quadrangle’s new design makes dropping off friends for class in Wirtz Hall more difficult, Elliot said.

If someone has an emergency that forces them to drive to the UP station, Perkins said people could park in the drop-off spot in front of the University Health Service.

Hewitt said when the construction is finished and the health services reopen in 1991, her office will ahve a chance to assess and address the parking needs in that area.

“I think we can at least work out 15 to 20 minute spaces with half-hour maximum meters on the west side of the UP station,” Hewitt said. “I favor looking at the situation. If it warrants additional parking, we’ll try to provide it.”