Crowd-control fences up in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Crowd-control fences went up early Wednesday in downtown Pittsburgh as the city made final preparations for the Group of 20 Summit.

Demonstrations are already being held, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported. Residents of a temporary encampment in the Hill District organized by groups campaigning for economic changes joined others Tuesday for a protest against home foreclosures at BNY Mellon Bank.

The city expects thousands of people to be in the streets when President Obama and other world leaders arrive Thursday. Officials have been planning security for months and fighting court challenges for weeks.

Measures like the crowd-control fences around the David L. Lawrence Convention Center were worked out the city and federal agencies like the Secret Service.

About 60 people were camped out in the Hill District. But Cheryl LaBash, a retired road inspector for Detroit working with Bail Out The People, said more were expected to arrive for the summit.

"We're going to have to rearrange," she said.