parking lots, which the city is attempting to reduce in order to promote higher density, create storefronts, and make downtown more vibrant. Some changes are being made slowly, such as the creation of the Smart Park garage system, and conversion of a surface-level parking lot into a park with underground parking at Park Block 5 between the Fox Tower and Park Avenue West Tower. In 2020 and 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Downtown Portland faced an increase in homeless camps, and a reduction in office workers due to remote work. During and after the Black Lives Matter protests, there was an increase in graffiti, property damage, and windows being boarded up. Bridges Portland is sometimes known as "Bridgetown," due to the number of bridges that cross its two rivers. There are nine bridges entering downtown and immediately adjacent areas. The bridges are (north to south): Fremont Bridge, carrying I-405 past the Pearl and Northwest districts and into downtown Broadway Bridge, connecting the Lloyd District to the Pearl District and carrying the Portland Streetcar's east-side line Steel Bridge, the only double-deck bridge with independent lifts in the world, and carrying MAX Light Rail and Amtrak into Old Town Chinatown Burnside Bridge, connecting the east side to downtown and the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood Morrison Bridge, leading directly into the central business district from the east side Hawthorne Bridge, Portland's oldest highway bridge and, leading directly into the central business district from the east side; Oregon's most heavily used bridge for bicycles Marquam Bridge, a two-deck bridge carrying I-5 traffic Tilikum Crossing, Portland's newest bridge, limited to public transit, bicycles, pedestrians, and emergency vehicles Ross Island Bridge, which connects U.S. Route 26 (SE Powell Blvd.) to the South Waterfront Outside the downtown area there are three other road bridges within Portland limits that cross the Willamette River: the St. Johns Bridge and Sauvie Island Bridge (to the north) and the Sellwood Bridge (to the south). Transportation Most streets in downtown Portland are one-way. Naito Parkway (two-way, formerly known as Front Avenue) is the farthest east, while most of the high-rises end by I-405 to the west. Interstate 5 runs on the opposite bank of the river, crossing over on the Marquam Bridge. U.S. Route 26 connects downtown Portland to the Oregon Coast and the Cascade Range. Downtown is also served by several forms of public transportation. TriMet, the regional mass transit agency,