Graz, 8 June 2026, 8.45 am: minutes before the doors open at Messe Graz, cars queue outside the exhibition centre car park. Barriers open every few seconds, thousands of visitors stream in – and traffic keeps flowing. Behind this is a parking system developed for exactly such peaks: Parken Plus, operator of the new car park, relies on flexible car park management and intelligent traffic control from Arivo.
One car park, many user groups
Where an old underground car park and a gravel lot once stood, one of Austria’s most modern car parks now offers around 1,600 spaces on three levels. On ordinary days it serves short-stay parkers, hotel guests, commuters and residents; on event days, two levels become visitor parking within hours. “Long-term parkers, hotel guests, commuters and trade fair visitors all use the same car park. At the same time, we had to ensure that we could guarantee a smooth flow of traffic even during major events,” says Wolfgang Reichl, Managing Director of Parken Plus.
Reversible lane and ticketless entry
- A reversible lane works as entrance or exit, with hardware for both directions
- Number plate recognition opens the barrier without a ticket
- LED displays show which lanes are open and guide visitors in real time
- Long-term models range from classic contracts to flexible, business and hotel packages
- Payment by cash, card, online, EasyPark or direct debit
When the car park becomes a traffic hub
The real test comes after an event, when thousands of visitors leave at once. The reversible lane becomes an extra exit, the LED screens switch their displays, and a link to the City of Graz’s traffic light control system extends green phases – so the car park empties quickly without traffic backing up onto one of the city’s main arteries. In the environmental impact assessment, Arivo’s ticketless solution had the shortest processing times. “Arivo prevailed over all its well-known competitors because it was the only company able to meet all the requirements of our project,” says Reichl.
“A parking system that only works on quiet days is of no use at an exhibition venue. The real test comes when thousands of people want to drive in or out at the same time,” says Dominik Wieser, founder and Managing Director of Arivo.
From a local problem to a new product
Because entry and exit points – and sometimes an area’s function – change up to twice a day, traditional signage was not enough. The LED guidance walls developed for Graz will become part of Arivo’s portfolio and be available to all customers. “They weren’t conceived on the drawing board, but arose from a very specific problem here in Graz,” says Wieser.
Photo: © Arivo
This article first appeared in Parking Trend International, issue 3-2026, the magazine of the European Parking Association. Read the full issue online.