BANGOR – Though a meeting on Penn National Gaming’s efforts to develop a $75 million racetrack casino at Bass Park drew few residents Tuesday night, those who did attend offered some insight into access issues, especially during times of heavy traffic.

“I see that right here as the real Achilles’ heel of the situation right now,” Catell Street resident Wallace Winchell said of the traffic near Bass Park, which has been a problem for residents of his street, as well as March Street and others handy to Bass Park.

Traffic becomes particularly problematic before and after major events at Bass Park, among them the annual state basketball tournaments and shows held at the Bangor Auditorium and Civic Center.

Winchell noted that Catell, located a few streets away from Bass Park, becomes “landlocked” during peak traffic. It doesn’t connect to any other streets. The only way in and out is by way of Main Street. Because of all the vehicles, those who live nearby have little choice but to “flip a coin and hit the gas” in hopes of making their way from home to Main Street, he said.

Winchell, who also noted that the neighborhood experiences some seasonal flooding because of the parking lots, was one of a handful of residents who attended a public meeting conducted by Bangor Historic Track Inc., which operates Bangor Raceway, and its parent company, Penn National. The meeting’s purpose was to gather public comment on BHT’s applications to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection for permits for the project.

Penn National holds the development rights for Bangor Raceway, the only location in Maine eligible for slot machines.

In terms of traffic, the entrance into the racino complex will be on Buck Street, between Main Street and the existing Auditorium and Civic Center.

The entrance likely will accommodate one-way traffic only, with traffic exiting by way of Dutton Street, which runs between the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce property and the Main Street Irving station.

Though traffic issues will be addressed in a separate application for a state traffic movement permit, the number of vehicles driving through the area is expected to increase once the proposed racino opens in June 2006.

Traffic engineer Tom Gorrill of Gray, a member of Penn’s project team, said that the Pennsylvania-based company is taking traffic concerns seriously. If patrons have difficulty entering and leaving the racino, “they won’t come back.”

To that end, the company expects to have to do some off-site improvements, including widening a section of Main Street closest to Bass Park.

As far as flooding, Robert Frank of WBRC Architects/Engineers, which has been tapped to tackle the project’s design work, said runoff from Bass Park could be redirected, keeping it out of the nearby neighborhood.

“So we can help with that problem,” Frank said.

Bangor Historic Track is gearing up to file applications with the Maine DEP for the environmental permits it needs in order to build its racino.

Proposed are a 115,000-square-foot gaming facility, a four-level parking garage for 1,500 vehicles, surface parking, access roads, drives and infrastructure.

The structures would be located in the large parking area behind the Irving gas station on Main Street, overlooking Bangor Raceway. The parking garage would be located just behind the casino complex.

As things stand, the statue of Paul Bunyan that has overlooked Main Street since 1959, the nearby wooden bandstand and Bangor’s 4-year-old skate park all would remain, though the skate park would move slightly to accommodate the racino’s main entrance road.