The Hurk Works! Also on green mobility

De Hurk is bustling with activity. Some 15,000 people are active here at almost 1,200 companies. From one-man businesses to multinationals: together they work on a good future for the industrial park and the surrounding area. The mobility transition is an inseparable part of this, says park manager Eric Duffhuis.

More than 50 years ago, De Hurk was created in a meadow. It has now been almost completely built in and the lively industrial park is located on the edge of the Eindhoven city centre. 'Like many others in the region, we suffer from the traffic on the roads and parking lots. We are working on that, for a future-proof De Hurk', says Eric Duffhuis.

BiZ is working on ambitions

De Hurk does this from a solid foundation. 'Right from the start, property owners and entrepreneurs found each other here in an involved network. Three years ago, the Business Investment Zone was also launched. In this BIZ, all property owners and entrepreneurs contribute financially and equally to making the industrial park more attractive, safer and more vibrant. We have jointly determined our ambitions and drawn up a plan of approach and implementation agenda. Together with the board, I implement this.'

Looking beyond your own plot

The action plan has nine themes: sustainability, circularity, safety, profiling, a green future, good accessibility and more. 'We are working on goals such as reducing energy consumption, starting a raw materials hub, de-hardening 11,000 m2 and creating an 8-kilometre walking route. This requires entrepreneurs to look beyond their own plot or ambitions. It also requires strong cooperation with all kinds of partners; companies, property owners, residents, province, municipality, stakeholders. The action plan creates clarity for everyone.'

Sufficient travel alternatives

Sustainable mobility touches on several of the themes. Eric: 'If we want to make things greener, we need to de-pave. If we want to de-pave, there need to be fewer cars. That also helps with good accessibility and lower CO2 emissions. That is why we are looking for sufficient travel alternatives and we want to park smarter and greener. For example, we are conducting a parking study: who parks where and when? Can we arrange collective parking facilities? If everyone travels to one location and can continue with shared transport, that saves a lot of asphalt. A good public transport connection is part of that, we are also closely involved in that. Another appealing action is encouraging the Karos app to promote car sharing.'

From car to bicycle

De Hurk also encourages the transition from car to bike. 'We participate in campaigns and help companies with tax-friendly bike policies. We also use the e-bike trial campaign to let people experience that you can easily and quickly cover a distance of up to 15 kilometers to and from work with an e-bike. A speed pedelec can even cover up to 25 kilometers. Do you have children who have to go to daycare? Then take the cargo bike. I cycle 15,000 kilometers a year myself, so I see myself as a bit of a missionary in these campaigns.'

More and more results on the street

In the field of mobility, De Hurk works closely with Brainport Bereikbaar. 'Over the past two years, the collaboration has been activated from just talking to doing. Brainport Bereikbaar has already carried out the mobility scan for many companies and continues to do so for new companies. We use the data from that for the implementation of actions and improvements. What helps a lot in that is that De Hurk has a decisive board that makes decisions, dares to do many projects and wants to learn from what happens. Brainport Bereikbaar goes along with that and has a good range of actions and campaigns. We challenge each other, are sharp on each other and tackle a lot with all those involved. It is great to see more and more results of that on the street.'