The Carnegie Science Center has dropped a demand for a pedestrian tunnel under North Shore Drive as part of the improvements it wants from the North Shore casino.

Director Joanna Haas said today the center decided to take the tunnel off the table in the "spirit of compromise" in an effort to reach an agreement with Don Barden before Tuesday's master plan vote by the city planning commission.

"It's all about collaboration and compromise, right? Our position is not a position of opposition to this project and we're trying to be reasonable," she said.

However, Ms. Haas said she and Mr. Barden, head of PITG Gaming LLC, the casino operator, still have been unable to reach an agreement over improvements related to bus access to the science center, the location of a casino hotel, and the impact of casino lighting on the center's observatory.

Ms. Haas and Mr. Barden talked by phone several times today and may continue negotiating over the weekend in an effort to resolve their differences. The science center is awaiting a written proposal from Mr. Barden that would outline his commitment to make improvements.

Mr. Barden said Thursday he is willing to widen a service road to allow for bus access into the center and to renovate a parking lot so that buses can park. He also offered to move a proposed hotel farther west away from the science center property and work with architects to ensure the center's observatory isn't affected by casino lighting. But he refused to build the tunnel.

Ms. Haas said the proposed improvements didn't go far enough, leading to more talks today.

The science center has threatened to sue if the planning commission approves the master plan, the first step toward casino construction, without conditions that address its concerns about access, lighting, lanscaping and pedestrian safety. The casino would be built next door to the science center.