I usually keep the cubby where the release is located locked, so every time I go to get gas, I dig the AKE fob out of my pocket,. and remove the key from it to unlock and reach the release. A bit more involved than I like, so I decided to relocate the release to the door jamb as at least one other person has done.

To remove the rear finish panel you start removing pieces at the door sill, then the door jamb, and seat belt mounting area. Then remove the wind blocker ( it pretty much just pulls straight up, you can use the trim removal pieces to help if you want) Then remove the covers to the style hoops/roll bar hoops. You can then either remove or at least loosen the center console, as the rear edge of that covers a lip of the rear trim piece. At the very least you should remove the 5 screws, and shift knob so you can have some play to move the console forward enough to get the lip out from underneath. There are 2 more trim fasteners (one on each side) affixing the trim piece to the car. These were covered by the door jamb trim piece.
Once all those are done, you can pry the top apart from the rear trim, and remove the entire rear trim piece. It's much easier to do with a second person, but can be done by one.
At this point you should be looking at this:



and this



close up of the release:



Taken after removal of nut holding the bracket on:



We had a steel L bracket lying around: