Shannon and Kilrush have had mixed fortunes in a new report released looking at sustainable modes of transport.
Newmarket-On-Fergus and Sixmilebridge were also assessed in the research by the Western Development Commission.
The report, entitled ‘A Sustainable Mobility Index for Rural Towns in Ireland’s Western Region’ is the first of its kind for rural Ireland and was developed to improve understanding of the mobility needs of people living in towns.
Shannon scored highest overall out of the 35 towns assessed across seven counties along the Western seaboard, scoring particularly well in the ‘access to services and social facilities’ and ‘access to economy and employment’ categories.
Newmarket-On-Fergus finished 6th overall and scored highly in terms of active travel and public transport facilities to secondary school.
Sixmilebridge finished 15th out of 35, and was noted for having a high level of car ownership and a lack of a transport plan and active town strategy.
Kilrush, meanwhile, finished third bottom overall.
The West Clare town was deemed to have particularly low levels of cycle parking and cycle paths, while it also scored poorly in terms of travel time to nearest hospital outpatient services and cultural activities.
