WPS Brings Smart Parking to Historic Strijp-T

How do you provide a modern, future-ready parking experience in a place defined by history and innovation? At Strijp-T in Eindhoven — once home to Philips and now a thriving hub for high-tech companies, startups, and makers — the challenge was clear: create a parking system that matches the site’s forward-looking spirit while respecting its industrial heritage.

Unauthorised Parking and Growing Demand

During the day, barriers remained open, allowing anyone who entered to park for free. Over time, this led to overcrowded lots, unauthorised parking, and growing frustration among tenants.

“We simply had too many unauthorised parkers. With the barriers open during the day it wasn’t controllable or enforceable — this had to be brought to order”, says Wilfred van der Eerden, site manager at Strijp-T.

As companies expanded — some growing from just a few to more than 50 employees — the strain on parking capacity increased. Dedicated ‘reserved’ signs no longer worked; enforcing them caused unnecessary friction. Add to that the introduction of paid parking in public areas, nearby schools and an increasing number of events, and the situation became impossible to manage. A new system was needed to bring structure and fairness back to the site.

A Cloud-Based, Self-Service System

To find the right partner, Strijp-T contacted an independent advisor and launched a competitive tender. After evaluating multiple proposals, they selected WPS Parking Solutions for its modern, scalable technology and solid total-cost-of-ownership model. Previously, the site relied on basic barriers operated by access cards — with no digital administration or analytics. WPS replaced this with a complete, cloud-based parking management solution, including:

• ParkAdvance+ entry and exit terminals with license plate recognition
• ParkID, enabling full cloud management and remote operation
• Business Parking, giving more than sixty companies control over their own access, subscriptions and visitors
• Parkingdeal for digital reservations
• Flexible configuration options such as discount modules for specific tenants and right-of-way users

After careful joint preparation, the implementation took just three weeks, including cabling, groundwork, and commissioning. WPS also organised information sessions and live demos to onboard all tenants.

“The installation went incredibly fast. You could tell WPS had prepared everything behind the scenes. And when something came up, they thought along and fixed it quickly.”

Tenants initially had to adjust to the change, but adoption followed swiftly. According to the site manager:

“Ninety percent said: it works so simply — it basically can’t go wrong.”

Fair Allocation, Less Crowded and Ready for Growth

The new parking system has transformed Strijp-T into a well-regulated and transparent environment. Friction between tenants over parking spaces has largely disappeared, and the site operates far more efficiently.

“I’ve been working on this parking problem for eight years; it’s finally regulated. It feels fairer and brings much more calm between tenants.”

Companies can now manage their own license plates and access via Business Parking, based on their allocated parking rights — a set number of spaces agreed per tenant. Within this allocation, companies can easily register employees, visitors, or temporary vehicles. When they occasionally exceed their limit, ‘over-parking’ is automatically tracked and settled each month, ensuring both fairness and flexibility.

Some companies have even encouraged employees living within ten kilometres to cycle to work, helping to reduce parking pressure — a small but meaningful step toward sustainable mobility, which is being pursued at Strijp-T. In the evenings, when most lots are empty, Strijp-T now plans to open its facilities for short-stay parking and event reservations (for example, for the nearby Klokgebouw or PSV stadium). Thanks to the digital system, this can be done easily and securely.

While the site manager admits the system adds some new administrative tasks, he sees that as part of progress:

“I do have more work than before, but I don’t mind — I actually enjoy it. It’s new, it keeps me involved, and it works.”

Solid Foundation for Smart Mobility

By implementing ParkAdvance+, ParkID and Business Parking, WPS has helped Strijp-T move from open barriers to a smart, cloud-based, and user-friendly parking experience. The collaboration between WPS and the project team has delivered a fair, future-ready solution that reflects Strijp-T’s innovative character and can easily respond to future developments - including a potential multi-storey car park. It marks a major step forward in creating a connected, data-driven mobility environment that enhances both convenience and operational control across the entire site.

About WPS

Since its establishment in 1985, WPS Parking Solutions has grown from a local Dutch provider of parking systems into one of the world’s leading providers of cloud-based automated parking solutions. WPS’ mission is to create smart, reliable and future-proof parking solutions that are designed for today’s and tomorrow’s connected world.