Bethlehem and railroad company Norfolk Southern will enforce a Monday deadline to clear out a homeless encampment near the Lehigh River at the railroad company's request.
Norfolk Southern in August requested the city remove people camped on its property near the Sand Island Trail, saying that the encampment poses health and safety concerns including improper disposal of waste, open fires and possible interference with rail operations.
Because the encampment is on Norfolk Southern's private property, Bethlehem is legally required to comply with the request, police Chief Michelle Kott has said.
According to Bethlehem Health Bureau director Kristen Wenrich, Bethlehem police officers, social workers with its Community Connections program and volunteers with the Bethlehem Emergency Shelter will be on site Monday.
"If there are any individuals left, we will try to connect them with services and housing," Wenrich said.
Dozens of former residents of the camp already have left the area.
During a walk through of the camp this week, city staff counted 12 people still camped in the area, all of whom said they have a plan to relocate by Monday, Wenrich said. City police and social workers already have established relationships with homeless encampment residents, Wenrich said, which has helped ease the transition for residents who will be forced to leave.
"This isn't an ideal situation certainly, but the fact we have those working relationships and trust built prior to Norfolk Southern posting this on their property has been beneficial, because we are already actively working with this population," she said.
Norfolk Southern will be responsible for the clean-up of their own property and has hired a third party contractor to physically clear out the area with industrial equipment, Wenrich said.
A spokesperson with Norfolk Southern did not specify whether its personnel will be on site Monday morning.
"Out of concern for the wellbeing and safety of those affected, we are working with local community organizations to connect individuals with housing solutions to ensure they have a warm place to stay out of the elements this winter and to eliminate the safety risk posed by encampments located on rail property," the spokesperson said, adding that the company has donated $35,000 to local nonprofits addressing homelessness in Bethlehem.
The majority of the homeless encampment is on Norfolk Southern's property, but some of the surrounding area is owned by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and UGI, which also have posted signs asking people to vacate.
Some of the surrounding property is city-owned, so public works employees will handle clean-up of that area if there are any residual supplies or belongings left behind there, Wenrich said.
Allentown evacuated a homeless encampment along the Jordan Creek this fall, leaving dozens of people without a place to go. While cities and property owners say that homeless encampments pose health and safety risks, homeless people and their advocates have said that cities should not clear out encampments without giving people an alternative place to relocate.