Members of the public will have their first opportunity to comment on design options for improvements to 124th Avenue Northeast at an upcoming open house.

The event will be held from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 10, in the first-floor concourse of Bellevue City Hall. Attendees can learn about and comment upon the preliminary design options to improve 124th Avenue Northeast, from Northeast 15th Street to Northup Way.

Project work will include: raising the elevation of 124th Avenue, widening the roadway to five lanes; adding a sidewalk or multipurpose pathway; landscape planters, traffic signals and street lighting; and other urban design features consistent with the city’s Bel-Red Corridor Plan.

Raising the elevation of the street is important because it will allow the future East Link light rail line to pass beneath it as trains travel through the Bel-Red area. The project also will help connect open-space trails along the West Tributary stream.

After the public open house, the city will continue to develop the project’s design and engineering through the spring of 2013. The project currently is funded only through the 60 percent design level.