PHILADELPHIA - Cars returned to downtown Philadelphia's streets, security workers took down metal gates and passersby gathered thousands of cases of bottled water left behind on Monday following Pope Francis' historic visit over the weekend.

 

The city had spent months preparing for the pope, warning residents and visitors that as many as 1.5 million people could pack into Center City for a Mass on Sunday, effectively doubling Philadelphia's population for the day.

 

In the end, the numbers were not quite that high. Mayor Michael Nutter told reporters on Monday that "hundreds of thousands of pilgrims" attended the Mass.

 

"Our city is returning to whatever normal is at this time of day," Nutter said. "We're actually coming back to normal operations sooner than most of us thought."

 

Transit services have been restored after rerouting over the weekend to focus only on bringing papal pilgrims to and from events. An area of about 4.5 square miles (11.7 square kilometers) had been enclosed for the events, which were held at the end of the pope's six-day visit to the United States.

 

Philadelphia residents said the pope's visit had been less disruptive than some had feared.

 

Catherine Long, a 32-year-old doctor, said she had been "worried" when she first learned that security fences would enclose her home while the pope was in town. She had been scheduled to work through the weekend, but found that the measures had not significantly hampered her commute.

 

"I ended up having to walk to work, or ride my bike, but everyone was really nice, the people at the checkpoints were polite," Long said as she walked her dog and carried her infant son through the streets that a day earlier had been packed with papal pilgrims.

 

Hundreds of city workers and volunteers fanned out along the Ben Franklin Parkway, where Sunday's Mass had been held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art to take down souvenir booths, snack shops and extensive security gates.

 

Just three people were arrested at papal events over the weekend, Nutter said.

 

The Philadelphia Daily News devoted its cover to the visit, feature a picture of the large crowd Sunday over the headline "A Million Thanks." The Philadelphia Inquirer had moved on, running a story about the slow trips home some who attended the final Mass faced on the bottom of its front page.

 

Many said they believed the final crowds had fallen short of earlier estimates, which in part reflected Francis' decision to visit three northeastern cities on his first trip to the United States, which began in Washington and moved on to New York. Argentina-born Francis, 78, the first Latin American pope, flew back to Rome on Sunday night from Philadelphia.

 

Bruce Jones, 53, said as he stood near one of the giant video screens set up to give crowds a clearer view of the pontiff, that he was a little disappointed.

 

"I've got mixed feelings about it, to be honest. I work in the hotel industry and we weren't as full as we'd thought we would be," Jones said.

 

The mayor said about 90 percent of the city's hotel rooms were booked over the weekend. —Reuters