Anti-war protesters who have been staking out a section of an Oakland sidewalk around the clock since Sept. 4 said that sometimes they got cited, sometimes they got a free pass from police.

Members of the Pittsburgh Organizing Group argued that the threat of arrest is enough to chill a person's right to free speech, and yesterday reached an accord with the city and police after going to court over the issue.

On Tuesday, lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit on behalf of group members who have been protesting outside an Army recruiting station.

Then yesterday, before the hearing on their request for a temporary restraining order, the two sides huddled for an hour outside a federal courtroom and reached what they called "an agreement in principle."

Under the arrangement, the city agreed to give the group two different areas along Forbes Avenue in which to protest. Members will be allowed to continue their action there until Sept. 30.

"We see today as an absolute victory on all counts," said Patrick Young, one of the protesters who has been cited. "Our right to protest has been affirmed. We'll be free from harassment, free from police intimidation and free from arrest."

The major concern of the police department, said city attorney Michael Kennedy, was pedestrian traffic.

"We have to weigh a lot of competing interests," he said, noting that police officers have to satisfy businesses, pedestrians and the protesters. But the agreement, he said, should do that.

"It creates a large enough pedestrian flow area," he said. "It eliminates tripping hazards."

Police Cmdr. Kathy Degler of the Squirrel Hill station said one of the major concerns was that there is a bus lane right next to the sidewalk where the protesters have gathered.

"The buses come flying out that lane," she said. "We don't want pedestrians to feel the need to avoid the protesters by going out in the street."

But group members argue they have always left enough room on the sidewalk for people to pass.

"The response from the police was wholly inconsistent," Mr. Young said.

Sometimes police officers would simply leave the protesters alone. Other times, officers would ask for identification, or tell them that they weren't allowed to sit or lie down, and that they had to keep moving.

For Michael Butler, a protester who is also on a hunger strike to bring awareness to the effort, that's not realistic.

Mr. Butler, 21, of Bloomfield, is surviving on water and salt tablets. He said he has already lost at least 25 pounds.

"We want to find a way to focus attention on dissent on the war in Iraq and military recruitment in Pittsburgh," Mr. Butler said.

Though they are camped out in front of an Army recruiting station, he said they don't really interact with any of the recruits. As far as talking to the military personnel there, he said, they mostly ignore one another.

One police officer, Mr. Butler said, called him a "communist."

"I think, in a lot of ways, anti-war is pro-troop," he said. "These people are our family, friends and community members being sent halfway around the world to fight and die for what -- greater financial and political power for a few people?"

As part of the deal, the protesters will be allowed to sleep in the area of the sidewalk in front of FedEx Kinko's at 3710 Forbes, and they'll be allowed to have chairs and signs set up in front of Qdoba, a Mexican restaurant, at 3712 Forbes.

Under the agreement, the number of protesters permitted will not be limited, and they will use a chalk line to mark the areas where they can be.