EUGENE–Oregon’s population will skyrocket over the next 25 years, according to the most recent projections.

That does not mean Oregonians like the idea.

A new statewide survey released by the Oregon Survey Research Laboratory (OSRL) at the University of Oregon shows almost no public support for any increase in the state’s population.

The survey found that the majority of Oregonians (65 percent) say the state’s population is now "about the right size," while 29 percent think it is already "too large" and would like to see it reduced. Only 2 percent of the survey respondents felt the state’s population is "too small."

A number of respondents suggested reducing the state’s population by 20 to 70 percent from today’s population, citing urban congestion, increased freeway traffic and housing prices among their concerns.

The results come from the OSRL’s second annual Social Indicators Survey, which measures a variety of social issues of interest to Oregonians. The telephone survey of 420 residents over the age of 18 years provides results accurate to plus or minus 4.8 percent.

In other findings, 31 percent of Oregonians feel that there are "very serious" or "somewhat serious" problems with their drinking water, 29 percent have a home water treatment system and 53 percent purchased bottled water during the past month.

The survey also discovered that a majority of Oregonians (53 percent) believe that a sentence of "life in prison without parole" means that the person will be released, usually within 20 years.

Other survey results on topics from gun ownership and fears of nuclear war to feelings about the Kip Kinkel verdict are available from the Oregon Survey Research Laboratory, 5245 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-5245. Results also will be posted on the OSRL web page at http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~osrl.

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