Zion National Park (AP) • Zion National Park officials announced they will extend the public comment period on a plan to require reservations to get into Zion National Park.

The National Park Service has extended the deadline from Monday to Friday because the website for submissions was down for maintenance this past weekend.

The park service is considering a year-round online reservation system for access to Zion and its most popular trails and attractions in response to a massive surge in visitation at the park.

Almost 4.3 million people visited the park last year, shattering the record of about 3.6 million set in 2015.

Under one of two “preliminary alternative concepts” unveiled by park officials in July, visitors would be required to get advance reservations to enter the park. The second plan would require reservations to access specific trails and sites.