The city of Portland plans to clear a homeless encampment near the Casco Bay Bridge on Thursday, Dec. 28.
It had originally planned to do so this past Tuesday, Dec. 19, but postponed after the city council voted 7-2 against the planned clearance. It announced the new date in a press release late this week.
City spokesperson Jessica Grondin said the delay was meant to provide more time to convince encampment residents to move into available shelter space, and also to share more information with city councilors. While the city has 170 shelter beds, roughly 100 are still open at the Homeless Services Center, Grondin said.
Notices about the new date have been posted at the Harbor View and Douglass Street/Dougherty Field encampments.
The city removed other large encampments earlier this year, and officials say that camp residents are at risk as they try to stay warm amid dropping temperatures. Two people have died, in Portland and Sanford, after fires started in tents, and the city says 12 people have died this year outside its encampments.