Uploaded on 2016-12-09 by Nadav Lasser

This is a photo of the main junction of Hod Hasharon, a crossing of Ramatayim Road (linking the town to Highway #5 to the south, and towards Highway #5 and the town of Ra'anana to the north), HaBanim street (the closest thing to a Main Street) and Magdiel Road (leading to the town's other urban focal point, Sokolov square). The areas surrounding this junction have undergone some changes over the past decade, yet the junction itself remains mostly unchanged. This photo was taken on a Friday afternoon, when businesses are already closed (or closing) before the weekend and traffic is winding down. Invisible information: 1. Vehicle traffic: traffic moving through the junction, which can be divided into several sub-groups of knowledge - A. Local (outbound, inbound) traffic: collected traffic data through road cameras can be cross-referenced with the municipal car registry; traffic direction can be used to evaluate the direction and purpose of traffic. B. Passing traffic: traffic from surrounding/neighboring areas passing through the town to the main highways (data of car entry/exit point of the junction, cross referenced with data from road cameras along the roads leading to the town exits). C. Visiting traffic: traffic intended to visit the town center (traffic data cross-referenced with parking data from municipal parking lots). 2. Pedestrian movement: movement of people into/through/out of the junction. Monitoring pedestrian movement can be used to: A. Purpose of visits to town center: monitoring of entry/exit of local shops, cross-referencing of time data, evaluating time spent (data can be collected from municipal security cameras; tracking software could be used to track individuals). B. Traffic generated between the junction and surrounding side streets (same as A; possible to monitor appearance/disappearance of people from main street). The above data could be used in various ways: A. Evaluate the function of the junction as a destination or a through-point for town residents and outsiders. This could support decisions such as zoning, traffic control and diversion (in the junction itself, the town and neighboring towns), municipal action to support and build-up local businesses and attractions. B. Understand how pedestrians use the junction and re-plan traffic and roads to support increased pedestrian and decreased vehicle traffic.