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.

Sparks fly at open house on 710 extension study (Pasadena Star News)

Some folks protested the study, others found the open house informative. Those who attended the meeting had the chance to visit different ‘stations’ and ask Metro and consultants questions about the ongoing study that is considering alternatives to improve traffic in the area around the 710 gap between Alhambra and Pasadena. Five alternatives are under study: the usual no build option, traffic signal and intersection improvements, bus rapid transit, light rail and a freeway tunnel. No decision has been made to build or not build anything yet — and there are no formal designs yet for any of the alternatives.

Newton: The city that could be (L.A. Times)

Editorial chief Jim Newton asks the four leading mayoral candidates — (in alphabetical order) Eric Garcetti, Wendy Greuel, Kevin James and Jan Perry — what the nation’s second-largest city would look like if they win the mayor’s job and hold it for eight years. Transportation is a frequent topic.

I especially like this kicker from Newton:

It may be tempting to dismiss the importance of a mayor’s physical vision for Los Angeles. But imagination matters, as L.A.’s history well attests. Rear Adm. John Walker recommended placing a port in San Pedro, and L.A. officials tethered it to the city by annexation; the port is still the region’s most important economic force. William Mulholland eyeballed an aqueduct from the Owens Valley, and it still supplies our water. Tom Bradley imagined a center of commerce on Bunker Hill, and there it is. Richard Riordan could not bear the unfinished parking lot on Grand Avenue and, together with Eli Broad and others, raised the money that paid for architect Frank Gehry’s building of genius.

Where would we be without those?

Metro and Metrolink find solution to rider transfer issue (KPCC)

This brief article looks at the paper TAP tickets that Metro and Metrolink are developing to get Metrolink riders through the turnstiles when Metro begins latching them later this year. Here’s last week’s post with a look at the ticket prototypes.

Cubic buys Nextbus (Transit Wire)

Always interesting when one Metro contractor buys another Metro contractor. In this case, it’s Cubic — the contractor that installed the TAP system — purchasing Nextbus — the contractor that supplies real-time bus arrival info for smartphones.