Thousands of people sat on the pavement of Harcourt Road on Monday night, listening to speeches and music, while thousands more milled about the hundreds of tents that have sprung up on the avenue. One was Nelson Lee, 26, who works in the insurance and fund management industry.

“They came for the same reason: They disagree with people destroying the barriers by improper means,” Mr. Lee said, adding that he had helped erect some barriers last week. “Students just want democracy, and the government uses so many means to destroy the protests.”

The police effort to remove some barricades in the Admiralty and Central areas of the city began before dawn on Monday, taking sleeping protesters by surprise. The police cleared at least one important downtown artery but left the protest camp untouched.

Later in the day, hundreds of people who oppose the pro-democracy demonstrations tore down more of the barricades around Admiralty that have choked traffic in the city, including two made largely of metal scaffolding at either end of Queensway. The crowds appeared to include truck and taxi drivers and members of “triads,” the local organized crime gangs, according to supporters of the protesters, but a good number were ordinary residents.

Lucy Tse, 52, said she had been stuck in her home in east Hong Kong Island since the protests broke out two weeks ago, and she lamented that she had to take the train instead of getting around in her Mercedes-Benz. “This is a public space for all Hong Kong people, not just for the students, not just for the government,” she said. “These Hong Kong students are spoiled.”