A Richmond man is revealing to the public he has been the one decorating the lions at either end of the Lions Gate Bridge since 1994.

He was given permission from the Ministry of Transportation and wreathed the lions every Christmas in secret.

But in 2011, Mauro Azzano was told to stop the tradition and that the decorations could distract drivers.

Now Mauro is breaking his silence, saying he wants the job back.

“There was a person who had gotten permission from, I believe it was the Ministry of Transportation or it could have been Highways, to do other things to the lions at other times of the year, other than Christmas,” said Azzano. “This person was decorating the lions as they saw fit and what they thought was [in] good taste. And apparently other people disagreed. There were complaints and the heritage organization that takes care of the lions said ‘OK, no more anything’.”

Story continues below advertisement

Azzano was only placing wreaths on the lions at Christmas and was not part of any other decorating throughout the year.

“What I asked [the ministry] in 2012 and 2013, was ‘look, you know that for 15, 16 years I did this. There were no complaints, people were appreciative, everyone liked it, it was a good gift for the City of Vancouver at Christmastime, can I be grandfathered in, despite this ban?’ And they basically said ‘no’. Nobody gets to do anything’.”

He said he can see the ministry’s point, but it was frustrating for him because he had been doing it for so long and remained anonymous throughout.

Feedback from the online community suggests most people would like to see the lions wreathed again at Christmastime.

Decorating the Lions Gate Bridge lions. Mauro Azzano

Transportation Minister Todd Stone said the government’s number one obligation is to ensure the safe movement of people. “Over time, the statues in question have been the subject of many different decorations, from Canucks uniforms to lobsters, to sombreros, and on and on it goes. We actually had received a growing number of complaints in the ministry, concerns raised by the public about the distracting nature of decorations on these statues.”

Story continues below advertisement

Stone said he has asked his staff to revisit their decision and to reach out to Azzano and see if he would be willing to continue the tradition of decorating the lions.

“I would like to see this tradition continue and I can think of no one better to do it than it than the gentleman, who again out of the goodness of his heart and the spirit of the season, has been doing it for a good number of years to this point.”