In my three years at Point Park, I’ve heard numerous rumors about the Mon Wharf. Students will say that unhoused people stay down there, people overdose and do drugs down there, people vandalize the parking lot and will beat you up if you see them, people use the bathroom in the Wharf, and the best of every allegation, you may be robbed or assaulted in the wharf.

While all of these allegations may have some truth to them, as someone who has parked in the Wharf for the last two years, I have not run into anything of the sort. 

When I first started parking there as a sophomore, I listened to the rumors. The first time I went to retrieve my car, I had Point Park police escort me down there and realized there wasn’t much to be worried about.

Typically, I went down the wharf stairs on Wood Street quickly, clutching my pepper spray in one hand and my keys in the other, with my thumb on the unlock button.

Most times I find myself going into the wharf late on Monday nights, sometimes at 2 a.m. When I go down there that late, I typically walk down with a friend, but let me tell you that apart from the occasional tent and bonfire, stoner, or sometimes late-night fisherman, it is usually deserted.

I’ve run into people sitting on the wharf stairs multiple times minding their own business, or people smoking a blunt, lingering in the dark. Yet most of these people are the same type as you. They’re afraid and don’t want to interact. They’re also weary or scared of strangers and prefer to stay away. 

The scariest interaction I’ve ever had was during a sunny afternoon. I was walking to go to the Wood Street stairs when I rounded the corner and bumped into a man hidden by simple perspective. After I visibly jumped, he realized and apologized without showing any malicious intent. I said it was okay and we went on our merry ways.

A year later, I am more relaxed when I walk down there. However, I remain alert when walking to my car. Parking in the wharf is not scary, but at the same time that doesn’t mean it’s entirely safe either. After all, it’s located in Pittsburgh – Downtown at that. Even though Downtown also may not be as dangerous as people think, it is not a perfect city. Most days, I still go down the wharf stairs on Wood Street quickly, with my AirPods in my ears, pepper spray clutched carefully in one hand and my keys with the other, with my thumb on the unlock button once I’m ready.

There is so much negative stigma about parking down in the wharf, but honestly, as the cheapest daily parking lot near our campus, I wouldn’t rather park anywhere else. I will admit that some days when the lot chain is pulled over, I still park in the lot without paying. Nobody says anything about me doing that. Overall, $10 or free parking is a good deal.