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Municipality of Nijmegen: An accessible and livable Four Days Marches event

The Nijmegen Four Days Marches is the largest multi-day walking event in the world and one of the biggest events in the Netherlands. Every year, Nijmegen welcomes tens of thousands of walkers for the Four Days Marches. In addition, during the Four Days Festivities, the city receives between 100,000 and 250,000 visitors per day. This requires strong control over accessibility, parking, and livability in the city. 

 

For the Municipality of Nijmegen, this is a complex operation. During this period, the city center is closed to traffic, while the city must remain accessible to residents, businesses, participants, and visitors. Permit issuance, enforcement, and service delivery therefore need to work together seamlessly.

With the deployment of CityControl and CityPermit, Sigmax supports the Municipality of Nijmegen in meeting this challenge. This allows the city to maintain oversight, even on the busiest days of the year.

Control over parking with CityPermit

During the Four Days Marches, the municipality of Nijmegen uses special parking permits for walkers. Through CityPermit, participants can easily apply for a parking permit for 4, 5 or 6 days and pay in advance. Dutch participants pay via iDEAL/Wero and international participants are invoiced. The Digital Counter is clear and only shows what is relevant to the applicant. Processing is largely automated, from application to the dispatch of the parking permit. This means less manual work and more clarity for the applicant. In 2025, 1,483 parking permits for walkers were issued. Because this process runs automatically, the municipality retains sufficient capacity to handle questions from residents, businesses and exceptional cases.

Residents and businesses can also apply for an exemption through CityPermit during the Four Days Marches. In the Digital Counter, they can immediately see what they are entitled to based on their situation and location. This prevents confusion and makes the application process easier and faster. In 2025, 1,514 exemptions for entering the city centre were issued.

For the municipality, CityPermit provides one central place for applications, payments and communication. For walkers, it offers convenience and certainty, even before they arrive in Nijmegen.

250
k
visitors per day
47
k
walkers
1483
parking permits
1514
exemptions

Effective enforcement with CityControl

During the event, enforcement is essential. With CityControl, Nijmegen uses license plate scanning to quickly identify parking nuisance and unauthorized traffic. Physical permits or paper documents are a thing of the past. Enforcement officers can check vehicles immediately, even in busy areas and temporary zones. This keeps the process fast and efficient.

During the Four Days Marches, additional devices are deployed so that the city center closure can be monitored intensively. Thanks to the flexible configuration of roles and permissions, contracted traffic stewards can also play a role in checking access to the city center.

CityControl also provides support for other forms of regulation. With the bicycle enforcement module, for example, the municipality can better monitor bicycle parking in the event area and prevent issues caused by improperly parked bicycles.

One up-to-date view through the integration of CityPermit and CityControl

By combining CityControl with CityPermit, a single up-to-date and reliable view is created of what is and is not allowed. Parking permits and exemptions issued through CityPermit are immediately visible to enforcement officers in the CityControl app on their handhelds. Changes to permits, exemptions, or subscriptions are processed automatically, ensuring that officers always have access to the latest overview.

This integration prevents unnecessary checks and discussions on the street. Enforcement officers no longer have to second-guess information or verify it across different systems. At a glance, they can see whether a vehicle is authorized to be parked or to enter a certain area. This makes enforcement faster, clearer, and more consistent, creating one seamless chain from application to enforcement.

Working together for a livable city

The partnership between the Municipality of Nijmegen and Sigmax shows how digital solutions contribute to a livable city, even during large-scale events.

Sigmax actively collaborates with the municipality. For example, they jointly explored the option of adding an extra product to the Digital Service Desk for the Four Days Marches. This collaboration helps develop solutions that align well with day-to-day practice.

By simplifying processes, digitizing permit issuance, and making enforcement smarter, Nijmegen creates more room for what truly matters: a safe, accessible, and welcoming city during the Four Days Marches.

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