Lincolnwood Town Center is Closed...(Lines 82, 96, 210, 290)

[Busjack]

 

27 minutes ago, Sam92 said:

No. I simply said I don't know what PACE is going to do since they don't have a turnaround to fall back on (and we all can agree Western Brown isn't gonna return for 210) , see below

 

THAT was what I was wondering the whole time. When the article said the village is talking to CTA, it didn't make sense on why CTA would need a temporary arrangement for 82 with the instead of just using Devon/Kedzie. But since you say it's the village that doesn't want that "cutback" there's something over there worth keeping service as well as them wanting #82 to serve whatever replaces Lincolnwood?

The Lincolnwood statement, which was quoted by CBS2, was:

During the demolition, the Village of Lincolnwood is working with the Chicago Transit Authority for a temporary relocation of CTA bus operations in the area.

So, the answer is yes.

[TaylorTank1229]

1 hour ago, Sam92 said:

No. I simply said I don't know what PACE is going to do since they don't have a turnaround to fall back on (and we all can agree Western Brown isn't gonna return for 210) , see below

 

THAT was what I was wondering the whole time. When the article said the village is talking to CTA, it didn't make sense on why CTA would need a temporary arrangement for 82 with the instead of just using Devon/Kedzie. But since you say it's the village that doesn't want that "cutback" there's something over there worth keeping service as well as them wanting #82 to serve whatever replaces Lincolnwood?

Once Lincolnwood closes, I suppose 82 will probably choose a spot where there’s still connection to other shopping/retails option nearby? However all that is north on Touhy and west of McCormick.

 

For Pace, 290 will more like stay on Touhy after Lincolnwood closes. 210… I know earlier mornings when the mall isn’t open yet, buses go clockwise when reaching Devon/Lincoln going down Devon, then on McCormick and sit over at Lincoln/McCormick for a few minutes then back northbound on Lincoln. Maybe they’ll do that for all their trip?

[Elkmn]

On 4/25/2026 at 8:19 PM, TaylorTank1229 said:

Once Lincolnwood closes, I suppose 82 will probably choose a spot where there’s still connection to other shopping/retails option nearby? However all that is north on Touhy and west of McCormick.

Maybe howard & mccormick? Would still get the important 290 connection, and add a 250 connection. Woudn't put too much money on it happening though.

[Busjack]

2 hours ago, Elkmn said:

Maybe howard & mccormick? Would still get the important 290 connection, and add a 250 connection. Woudn't put too much money on it happening though.

People ruled that out before because of a tight turn off McCormick, and the turnaround is too small for an artic (and, in any event, probably not big enough for 11 and 82).

[jtrussel]

21 minutes ago, Busjack said:

People ruled that out before because of a tight turn off McCormick, and the turnaround is too small for an artic (and, in any event, probably not big enough for 11 the right turn

The right turn is doable, it the exit out of the turn around that would be trouble 

[Rhys Pate]

Could the CTA have the 82 do a turnaround with a series of streets? For example, with the official terminus being Crawford/Howard, the 82 would turn around via McCormick, Howard, Crawford, Touhy, and McCormick.

[Busjack]

1 hour ago, Rhys Pate said:

Could the CTA have the 82 do a turnaround with a series of streets? For example, with the official terminus being Crawford/Howard, the 82 would turn around via McCormick, Howard, Crawford, Touhy, and McCormick.

It could but not that far out of the way.  As I suggested above,  maybe something around the Skokie industrial area , like 96 used to do.

[jajuan]

Well I can say that even with Lincolnwood Town Center having become a virtual ghost town before its now official closing, I still noticed that ridership on the 82 was still pretty high leaving the mall those few times I'd take it on the ride home from there. (I mainly only used the 82 in recent times when the 96 wasn't running or otherwise unavailable). What I noticed and had come to a conclusion about before having confirmation was that a number of those riders weren't really shipping in the mall proper but were in other shops and restaurants outside of and near the mall. They'd just cut through the mall to get to the bus stops. So I can see why the village wants the 82 to keep coming north of Devon during the daytime and early parts of the evening. That would definitely explain why the CTA hadn't posted any alerts or announced any changes to the 82 or 96 related to the mall's final closing on Friday.

[Elkmn]

34 minutes ago, jajuan said:

Well I can say that even with Lincolnwood Town Center having become a virtual ghost town before its now official closing, I still noticed that ridership on the 82 was still pretty high leaving the mall those few times I'd take it on the ride home from there. (I mainly only used the 82 in recent times when the 96 wasn't running or otherwise unavailable). What I noticed and had come to a conclusion about before having confirmation was that a number of those riders weren't really shipping in the mall proper but were in other shops and restaurants outside of and near the mall. They'd just cut through the mall to get to the bus stops. So I can see why the village wants the 82 to keep coming north of Devon during the daytime and early parts of the evening. That would definitely explain why the CTA hadn't posted any alerts or announced any changes to the 82 or 96 related to the mall's final closing on Friday.

might be transfering from the 290 and the 210!

[jajuan]

19 hours ago, Elkmn said:

might be transfering from the 290 and the 210!

I already took that into account. A number of those people I would actually see in other shopping areas near the mall before I saw them at the mall entrance bus stops. So it wasn't from transferring from 290 or 210. Besides they wouldn't need to walk through the mall to do that, something I explicitly mentioned they were doing in my earlier comment. They could just get off either of those Pace buses at the mall entrance and stay at the entrance to get the 82. 

[TaylorTank1229]

23 hours ago, jajuan said:

Well I can say that even with Lincolnwood Town Center having become a virtual ghost town before its now official closing, I still noticed that ridership on the 82 was still pretty high leaving the mall those few times I'd take it on the ride home from there. (I mainly only used the 82 in recent times when the 96 wasn't running or otherwise unavailable). What I noticed and had come to a conclusion about before having confirmation was that a number of those riders weren't really shipping in the mall proper but were in other shops and restaurants outside of and near the mall. They'd just cut through the mall to get to the bus stops. So I can see why the village wants the 82 to keep coming north of Devon during the daytime and early parts of the evening. That would definitely explain why the CTA hadn't posted any alerts or announced any changes to the 82 or 96 related to the mall's final closing on Friday.

I’m guessing, they are still trying to find alternatives to where the 82 could terminate now that the mall is closed for business. For the time being, it does work as a transfer point for Pace 290 buses for service along Touhy Avenue. I take once they get ready for demolition of the mall in the coming weeks, is when CTA could announce any possible service changes to 82 & 96.

[sht6131]

2 hours ago, TaylorTank1229 said:

I’m guessing, they are still trying to find alternatives to where the 82 could terminate now that the mall is closed for business. For the time being, it does work as a transfer point for Pace 290 buses for service along Touhy Avenue. I take once they get ready for demolition of the mall in the coming weeks, is when CTA could announce any possible service changes to 82 & 96.

My guess is that the 82 will go back to its former terminal prior to its extension to Lincoln Town Center which was Devon/Kedzie terminal. Do not have a thought regarding the 96.

[Busjack]

9 minutes ago, sht6131 said:

My guess is that the 82 will go back to its former terminal prior to its extension to Lincoln Town Center which was Devon/Kedzie terminal. Do not have a thought regarding the 96.

If you had read above, there was the statement from the Village of Lincolnwood that it was negotiating with CTA over 82, and another poster said that wouldn't be necessary if CTA were to cut back to Devon-Kedzie. So, your guess isn't likely.

[TaylorTank1229]

2 minutes ago, Busjack said:

If you had read above, there was the statement from the Village of Lincolnwood that it was negotiating with CTA over 82, and another poster said that wouldn't be necessary if CTA were to cut back to Devon-Kedzie. So, your guess isn't likely.

Possibly, though now that 82 runs more frequently and with the articulated buses that be running on the route, would that cramp up the terminal more than usual? 96 would probably just remain on McCormick if nothing else significant occurs to service.

[Busjack]

5 minutes ago, TaylorTank1229 said:

Possibly, though now that 82 runs more frequently and with the articulated buses that be running on the route, would that cramp up the terminal more than usual? 96 would probably just remain on McCormick if nothing else significant occurs to service.

If I'm now going to guess,  I'll say the bus doesn't go to the back of the demolition site,  but there is enough vacant parking lot that it could circle somewhere around the Olive Garden. 

But as I said above,  it's up to CTA and Lincolnwood to figure it out. 

[MetroShadow]

9 minutes ago, TaylorTank1229 said:

Possibly, though now that 82 runs more frequently and with the articulated buses that be running on the route, would that cramp up the terminal more than usual? 96 would probably just remain on McCormick if nothing else significant occurs to service.

It's doable if they can get ~200' x 30-ish' (or that curb space on the south side)

[sht6131]

1 hour ago, Busjack said:

If you had read above, there was the statement from the Village of Lincolnwood that it was negotiating with CTA over 82, and another poster said that wouldn't be necessary if CTA were to cut back to Devon-Kedzie. So, your guess isn't likely.

I went back to look for that statement. Found it and I did miss it. My guess now does not make sense.

[strictures]

All I know is that I saw a 290 go all the way through the now closed mall on late Monday afternoon.  Is Pace aware the place is closed?  There were maybe a hundred cars in the lot I could see from Touhy, my guess is they are store employees packing up what's left to ship out to other stores or closeout companies.

[Sam92]

1 hour ago, strictures said:

All I know is that I saw a 290 go all the way through the now closed mall on late Monday afternoon.  Is Pace aware the place is closed?  There were maybe a hundred cars in the lot I could see from Touhy, my guess is they are store employees packing up what's left to ship out to other stores or closeout companies.

1: Maybe the village also wants pace (they're in on the negotiations as well) there too. Earlier up they said there's so connections besides Lincolnwood that people still want and use. Plus 290 is one of Pace's busier lines

2: Pace probably wants to wait until pick time since the running times would be altered by like 10-ish minutes if they were to skip. 

[Busjack]

2 hours ago, Sam92 said:

1: Maybe the village also wants pace (they're in on the negotiations as well) there too. Earlier up they said there's so connections besides Lincolnwood that people still want and use. Plus 290 is one of Pace's busier lines

2: Pace probably wants to wait until pick time since the running times would be altered by like 10-ish minutes if they were to skip. 

Pace was mentioned in the village statement. If the mall comes tumbling down, the bus won't stop there.

What's more likely is like at Hawthorne. Sears closed and Pace posted an alert that the 272, 574, and On Demand stop moved somewhere else. Current Alert is that the buses stop south of Macy's. Similarly, Pace could post that the bus stops on the ring road outside Lincolnwood Place (sort of like the River Oaks buses now stop at Victory Centre).

This isn't that difficult

[Erin Mishkin Jr.]

Lincolnwood mall is still open and there’s still businesses in there that are open (nail polish stores, Metro by t mobile, JD, kohls just to name a few)

[Elkmn]

6 hours ago, Erin Mishkin Jr. said:

Lincolnwood mall is still open and there’s still businesses in there that are open (nail polish stores, Metro by t mobile, JD, kohls just to name a few)

How's that food court doing?

 

I feel like devon & kedzie won't do well with handling the large bunches that accumulate on the 82, especially with the artics. also, there's no protected left going east on devon! yikes yikes yikes!

[Erin Mishkin Jr.]

4 minutes ago, Elkmn said:

How's that food court doing?

 

I feel like devon & kedzie won't do well with handling the large bunches that accumulate on the 82, especially with the artics. also, there's no protected left going east on devon! yikes yikes yikes!

The food court has completely shut down a couple weeks ago. Bathrooms near the food court are still usable.

[Busjack]

7 hours ago, Erin Mishkin Jr. said:

Lincolnwood mall is still open and there’s still businesses in there that are open (nail polish stores, Metro by t mobile, JD, kohls just to name a few)

I noted March 25 a statement that a salon tenant said they had to be out by mid-April. Maybe the little proprietors are waiting for relocation help.

Kohl's is its own building, and the village announcement was that it will be the last to be demolished.

[Busjack]

On 5/6/2026 at 5:03 PM, Erin Mishkin Jr. said:

Lincolnwood mall is still open and there’s still businesses in there that are open (nail polish stores, Metro by t mobile, JD, kohls just to name a few)

...

Tribune article on the 4 dead malls. On Lincolnwood Town Center, it confirms what you said--a lot of people waiting for the CTA bus, but the mall is still accessible, and the demolition can't start until regulatory requirements are met.