a different kind of bike lane conflict

Today I was talking with a disabled friend who gets around in a wheelchair. He was telling me about a dark side to our new protected bike lanes, something that hasn't been adequately addressed. If he parks next to a parking-protected lane and deploys the ramp on his van to reach the curb, he sometimes gets yelled at by cyclists using the lane - not for creating a dooring or impact risk, but simply for using the ramp. Sometimes that's the only place for him to park.

While I have a problem with able-bodied drivers blocking bike lanes, if a disabled person in a wheelchair needs to use a ramp to use the curb, yelling at that person is just plain mean. An able-bodied cyclist has the option of going into the traffic lane to go around, or picking up their bike and walking briefly on the sidewalk, then returning to the bike lane. Someone in a wheelchair doesn't have that option. Let's not be mean, folks. A little bit of kindness and understanding can go a long way.