Professor George Hazel

Professor Hazel is Managing Director of MRC McLean Hazel Ltd a consultancy specialising in providing transport and urban development advice, concepts and solutions for the public and private sectors. MRC McLean Hazel is the UK and European arm of the McCormick Rankin Corporation (MRC) which has offices across Canada, Australia, New Zealand and in the UK and Europe in Edinburgh, Yorkshire and Brussels. MRC is a long established transportation and highway consultancy with over 400 staff worldwide. Professor Hazel is an Honorary Professor at the Robert Gordon University, past Chair of the National Advisory Forum of Transport 2000s Reclaiming Main Roads Initiative, was a member of the Lorry Road User Charging Advisory Group and is an Advisor to Transport 2000s Policy Council and the Commission for Integrated Transport in London. He was a member of the UK Secretary of States Steering Group on National Road User Charging and was also President of the Institution of Highways and Transportation (IHT), Chairman of the Urban Areas Committee (C10) of PIARC/the World Roads Congress and Chair of the Centre for Scottish Public Policys Transport Commission. He was Chair of the Urban Design Alliance (UDAL) in 2005 and 2006 and in 2005 was awarded the Order of the British Empire for services to Transport. He specialises in strategic urban and transport studies and his work includes the book Making Cities Work and the Megacities Report for Siemens launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2007.

Previously he was Professor of Transport Policy at the Centre for Transport Policy where he looked after the consultancy business. From 1996 to 1999 he was Director of City Development for the City of Edinburgh Council responsible for planning, economic development, transportation and property. The Department had a staff of 1200. From 1993 to 1996 he was Director of Transportation for Lothian Regional Council again with a staff of 1200. During these two periods Professor Hazel worked with Professor David Begg who was Chair of Transport for the Councils. Together they introduced many interesting new initiatives including Greenways bus priority, the first car-free development in the UK, the first community car club in the UK and the reallocation of space back to people in areas like the Royal Mile in Edinburgh Old Town.

From 1989 to 1993 he was a main board Director with TPA (now Faber Maunsell) where he was responsible for Scotland and UK private sector developments.

From 1979 to 1989, he was with Napier University as a transport specialist. Under his guidance the Department of Civil Engineering became the largest centre of transport research expertise in Scotland and one of the most important in the UK. In 1986 he was made Head of Department and in 1987 became the first Professor of Transportation in Scotland.

His initial training, following graduation was in Local Government where he worked from 1971 to 1979.
Professor Hazel graduated in 1971 in Civil Engineering from Heriot-Watt University; he remains a Chartered Civil Engineer. He also holds an MSc in Transportation and a PhD in the Traffic Impact of Large Retail Developments.

He lists his hobbies as restoring vintage cars, golf, skiing and travel. His wife Fiona is a physiotherapist and he has three children Anna, Jennifer and Andrew.