The restructuring of the city's transit department into two branches was approved yesterday by civic works and operations committee.

If approved by city council, the department will have an operations branch, responsible for transportation and equipment maintenance, and a marketing and development branch responsible for schedules, publicity, planning and research.

This would be the first phase of a two-phase reorganization. The second phase would be reorganization below the manager level.

The changes are among several adopted by city council in February, 1980, as a result of a consultant's report on the department.

The report also recommended transit become a separate department within the works and operations division and the creation of the position of director of transit, as post now filled by Rick Borland.

The new manager of marketing and development, yet to be selected, will be earning a salary in the $46,000 range, but Coun. Alf Skowron said the salary will be closer to $60,000 when $14,000 of employee benefits are considered.

Coun. Helen Promislow said there would be a built-in conflict between the two subheads of the department, but Borland said he "wouldn't view it as a conflict. I would view it as a healthy difference of primary objectives."

The new structure reflects "an emphasis on new thinking and new ideas within the transit department," he said.