I promised to give the example of a point where the US-Canada border runs down the middle of the street, so I've attached a quickly drawn map--sorry about the size and quality, but I think it will give you the visual information you need to understand the situation.
Grant, was it you who asked what people have to do in this situation? Here is the example of Beebe-Beebe Plain, US-Canada.
The border does not go precisely down the middle of the street, as you can see, but in the communities, the center of the road is treated as the border.
Here are some scenarios based on my observations and interviews:
1) If someone who lives on the US side of town wants to drive or walk to a house on the US side of this street (curiously named CANUSA Boulevard) he/she only has to drive/walk to the corner and turn right--no stopping at US or Canadian customs necessary. Along most of this street this person's car never actually drives on Canadian soil.
2) If someone from the Canadian side of town wants to visit someone on the Canadian side of CANUSA Blvd, he/ she would have to drive to the intersection and then left (east) on the US side of the road and drive into the driveway on the Canadian side of the street. It is not necessary for him or her to pass through either country's border formalities.
3) If a US resident wants to visit someone on the Canadian side of the street, he/she has to drive to the intersection and pull into Canadian customs for inspection. Then he/she would turn around onto the main road and then left (east) onto CANUSA Blvd. The same is true if he/she wants to follow CANUSA where it curves northward out of town.
4) If a Canadian resident wants to visit someone on the US side of CANUSA, he/she would drive to the intersection, drive through US customs, then physically turn around back to the intersection and then right onto CANUSA.
5) If a person who lives on the south side of CANUSA wants to visit a neighbor across the street in Canada, and vice versa, he/she must walk all the way down to the end of the street, report at the checkpoint of the appropriate country, and then walk back down the other side of the street to the neighbor's house.
It's actually a very interesting situation. Aside from interviewing the border officials, I sat and watched the traffic flows for several hours--very enlightening.
I hope this explanation is clear. Ask if you have any other questions.
Dallen
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