Application of PCA to Identify Residents’ Perceptions of Traffic Environment and Road Hump Installations in Malaysian Residential Areas

Abstract

Residential areas in Malaysia face various traffic-related issues such as high traffic volume, speed and noise levels, despite the prevalence of road hump installations. This paper studies how the residents perceive the existing traffic calming installations as a measure to improve their living environment. Based on the questionnaire distributed and using Principal Components Analysis (PCA), this paper identified that the themes in the residents’ perceptions on traffic conditions centred around daytime traffic volume and light vehicle speed and noise, daytime heavy vehicle speed and noise, satisfaction with surrounding environment and importance of better traffic conditions for a better living environment. Themes in perceptions on road hump effectiveness were road hump characteristics, traffic volume and light vehicle noise, light vehicle speeds and heavy vehicle noise and speeds. Responses were mixed on whether road humps had improved one’s living environment by reducing traffic noise, volume and speeds.