(Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS) A notice opposing the razing of the downtown Manchester homeless encampment was posted on a pole.

MANCHESTER — The deadline was Tuesday for people to move out of the encampment outside the Families In Transition Shelter, but Wednesday morning became the day dismantling began.

Early Wednesday morning, outreach workers from several agencies gathered on Manchester Street as DPW workers and police officers put up barriers to close the street to traffic. Barriers were also placed on Pine Street, closing one lane to give people in the encampment room to work.

DPW workers delivered several black totes with yellow lids so encampment residents could fill them with belongings. The city will store the totes for the residents.

Previous encampment removals only allowed one tote per person, but this time people could get as many totes as they wanted.

At about 10 a.m. residents began the process of packing their belongings in the totes and in shopping carts, while some loaded their items in the vehicles of friends who arrived to help.

(Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS) An aerial view of a section of the homeless encampment at Manchester and Pine streets, taken shortly before residents were evicted.

Residents in the encampment were advised that DPW workers would begin removing unwanted items at noon. A large DPW truck with a boom outfitted with a claw scooped up clothes, tents, and belongings and loaded them into a truck.

A front loader and several dump trucks arrived and assisted in removing unwanted items while other DPW workers loaded totes into trucks to transport them to a secure facility.

Gilles Bissonnette, the Legal Director for the ACLU of New Hampshire who asked the court to halt the evictions but was denied, was on scene most of the day answering questions for the people being evicted. Supporters of the homeless community set up a table serving coffee and donuts to those packing up their belongings.

By mid-afternoon, cars were lined up along Pine Street inside the erected barriers, loading the belongings of people they were assisting.

Several people had multiple carts loaded and pulled them away from the encampment headed to downtown Manchester.

(Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS) Residents of the homeless encampment at Manchester and Pine streets pack up their belongings as a steam shovel works its way down the street.

When asked where they would go, some did not want to answer or said they didn’t know. Others said they would set up in downtown Manchester, possibly along Elm Street where they can be in well-lit areas and feel safe.

City officials said that the Cashin warming shelter on the city’s West Side will remain open and available for people to spend the night.

At Tuesday’s Board of Mayor and Alderman meeting, funds were approved to set up a 24-hour shelter at 39 Beech St., which is an abandoned industrial building. They also approved use of the bus terminal at Canal and Granite streets as a warming shelter.

The clearing of the encampment appeared to be peaceful, with no known arrests. People praised police for working with them.

The City issued a lengthy update outlining all the steps they are taking to make accommodations and keep people safe.

–JEFFREY HASTINGS