Four days after a snowstorm dumped more than two feet of snow on the area, many sidewalks in the City of Niles remain covered in snow and ice.

Joe Ray, director of public works, is reminding residents and business owners that they are required by city ordinance to keep their sidewalks clear after a snow event.

“There is still a significant problem with sidewalks not getting cleared,” Ray said. “We are trying to encourage residents to clear their walks so pedestrians aren’t forced into the roadway.”

Although the problem can be seen all around the city, officials are most concerned about impassable sidewalks along the city’s main thoroughfares, like South 11th Street.

Fire Chief Larry Lamb said people walking to work have been forced to walk on busy roads because sidewalks are not clear.

“It’s dangerous,” he said. “I talked to someone specifically who said they almost got hit. It is a danger for the drivers and the pedestrians.”

To avoid the potential for someone getting hurt, Lamb and a few others on Tuesday talked to and issued notices to business owners on South 11th and East Main streets about getting their

sidewalks cleared.

“The hope is that it improves,” he said. “A business should be able to provide for their walks. There should be no question about that.”

Due to staffing and equipment cuts, the city typically only plows city-owned properties and some school routes as time permits.

City ordinance states that property owners have to remove snow and ice from their sidewalks by noon the day after a snowstorm. If that is not done, the city has the right to clear the sidewalk at the expense of the property owner, plus 10 percent.

Lamb is also reminding residents to keep snow clear from fire hydrants in order to help firefighters do their job as quickly as possible.

“The faster we can locate that hydrant and establish water supply, the faster we can get water on the fire and stop risk of the property and the risk of the occupants,” he said. “When those hydrants are buried, or if there’s a big snow drift in front of it, it takes more people and more time to locate the water source.”