Here is a look at some of the transportation headlines gathered by us and the Metro Library. The full list of headlines is posted on the Library’s Headlines blog, which you can also access via email subscription or RSS feed.

Bike riders with, and without, helmets at the April 2012 CicLAvia. Photo by Joel Epstein/Metro.

Hard-headed: 4 out of 5 bike share riders don’t wear helmets (GOOD)

Maybe it is the fear of helmet hair? With urban bike share programs popping up in cities across the country (L.A. is launching it own bike share program soon), civic leaders are struggling to find ways to encourage helmet usage. Problem is, bike share users are far less likely than regular riders to be carrying a helmet when they need one. Boston’s solution is to install sidewalk helmet kiosks selling inexpensive helmets at bike docks. Another obstacle to wider usage is mixed findings from the research on the effectiveness of helmet use. With more bikes on the road, watch for more public awareness campaigns aimed at increasing helmet use.

Businesses along new Expo Line hoping to cash in (KPCC)

With Phase One of the Expo Line up and running, local businesses along the new line are hoping to attract new customers. KPCC speaks with business owner Cary Earle of Earlez Grille who says, “We need that. It’s going to be good for the community. It’s going to bring a lot of jobs… [and] it’s going to bring a lot of people to the community that don’t necessarily come to this community.” The report also cites a transportation and urban planning professor from USC who feels the next decade could be a threshold changing decade for public transit in Los Angeles.

Elated commuters say Metro’s new Expo Line will save them time, money (CBS/KCAL)

South Los Angeles and other commuters are happy about leaving their car behind and riding the new Expo Line to work. KCAL interviews a rider who captures the public’s enthusiasm, saying “I am so excited about taking this. This saves me a lot of time, gives me time to read, saves me gas. That’s very important.”

Aging infrastructure little addressed by presidential candidates (Scrippsnews)

A recent report entitled Failure to Act, from the the American Society of Civil Engineers     (ASCE), asserts that the United States needs to spend $1.7 trillion in the next nine years to shore up the country’s roads, bridges, and water and sewer lines. Still, this costly issue is receiving relatively little attention from the presidential candidates. According to Andrew W. Herrmann, a Pittsburgh-based engineer and president of the ASCE, the last serious investment in infrastructure dates back to Franklin Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower — more than 50 years ago.