By Associated Press
Birmingham, AL – Homeless people camped beneath Birmingham's overpasses and railways were warned to move out before the city evicts them, starting this week.
Don Lupo, director of the Mayor's Office of Citizens Assistance, says the city is responding to requests from railroad officials and the Alabama Department of Transportation.
Lupo says highway and railroad officials want the people removed because they are trespassing on private property.
Violence, petty thefts and unsanitary conditions in the camps also are factors in the decision to remove them, Lupo says.
Many of the people living on the property are not accused of offenses that warrant arrest.
Peter and Greer McCoy said the city is moving them from their downtown home of about two years under Interstate 65 near First Avenue North.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)