Officials have not said when they might move on the encampment of several hundred people, but Los Angeles Police Department officials said the goal Monday morning was primarily focused on allowing downtown traffic to move unimpeded.

“As we’ve said before, this isn’t sustainable long term, but for now our focus was just getting people off the street, which we did peacefully,” Andrew Smith, a spokesman for the police, said early Monday morning. “If people want to get arrested we can certainly accommodate that.”

Mayor Villaraigosa has repeatedly said that protesters would be given ample notice before the police began making arrests in the park. He said that by Monday evening nearly half the tents had left the park, a sign that the deadline was working and that arrests could be avoided.

“What we wanted to do is to say the park is closed and we will enforce it, but we will do so in a way that continues the path we’ve charted and encourages people to comply with a minimal amount of force,” he said. “We’ve said from the very beginning we understand the message and we want to do this in a different way. We are ready to enforce at any time that minimizes potential conflict.” While the police department has been criticized in the past for excessive force, many protesters have praised the officers for acting with restraint.