Role of New Congestion Reduction Unit, Brisbane City Council

Role of New Congestion Reduction Unit, Brisbane City Council

Simon Belfield - Branch Manager, Brisbane City Council’s new Congestion Reduction Unit (CRU)

Simon Belfield is the Branch Manager of Brisbane City Council’s new Congestion Reduction Unit (CRU), which was established on 1 November 2010. 

He leads a team of around 70 staff with aim to apply best practice solutions to reduce traffic congestion within the Brisbane City Council area.  The Branch is responsible for the day to day operation of the road network, and encompasses the operation of the Brisbane Metropolitan Transport Management Centre (BMTMC). The CRU applies measures to specifically address congestion, which includes: managing unplanned incidents; coordinating planned incidents; identifying congestion “hot-spots” and implementation of mitigation measures; managing all aspects of traffic signal operations; applying world class Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), and monitoring and evaluating road network performance.

Simon has over 20 years experience in the areas of road safety, traffic engineering and traffic management.  In recent years he has specialist in the management of planned and unplanned incidents, and prior to joining Council was National Traffic Manager for Leighton Contractors.  Whilst at Leighton Contractors Simon was responsible for managing the traffic impacts to facilitate the construction of many major road infrastructure projects including the Westlink M7 Motorway in Sydney and he was the initial Traffic Manager for the construction of the Clem Jones Tunnel Project.

Simon also spent 13 years with the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority in various road safety and traffic management roles.  Prior to leaving, he was the Traffic Impact Coordinator for the Upgrading of the Pacific Highway, between Newcastle and the QLD Border.

Simon holds a Bachelor of Management from Southern Cross University, an Associate Diploma in Civil Engineering, and has completed the Special Course on Transport Planning, Management and Control, conducted by the University of New South Wales.