City of Castle Pines 2025 Community Survey

Magellan Strategies is pleased to present the topline results of an online community survey of 854 adult residents in the City of Castle Pines, Colorado. The interviews were conducted from September 23rd – October 12th, 2025.

Residents of Castle Pines expressed strong overall satisfaction with their city, with the vast majority reporting a sense of pride in living there and rating it as a better place to live compared to other Colorado communities. Quality of life ratings were particularly high for safety, family-friendliness, and outdoor recreation, though the city scored poorly as a place to work, start a business, shop, or dine — areas residents consistently identified as needing improvement.

When asked about the city’s direction, residents were cautiously optimistic, with more saying things were headed the right way than the wrong way, though a significant portion was unsure. Those who felt positively pointed to infrastructure improvements, thoughtful growth, community feel, and responsive leadership. Those who felt negatively cited overdevelopment, poor commercial identity, traffic and construction frustrations, and concerns that city leaders weren’t following through on community input.

Public safety services received strong marks. Residents broadly approved of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, particularly its visibility and daytime presence, though traffic enforcement drew mixed reactions — some appreciated it while others felt it amounted to speed traps. South Metro Fire Rescue was well-regarded, and residents expressed solid satisfaction with the city’s wildfire mitigation efforts, though many wanted more communication and preparedness guidance.

Parks and recreation was a clear bright spot. Residents visited parks and trails at very high rates and expressed strong satisfaction with their maintenance and availability. However, there was significant demand for expanded amenities, particularly a publicly accessible recreation center and pool, more pickleball and tennis courts, and better trail connectivity throughout the city.

On development, residents felt residential growth had moved too fast while commercial and retail growth had moved far too slowly. There was strong desire for a walkable town center with quality restaurants and shops, and widespread concern about preserving the city’s open spaces and small-town character. Affordable housing and office or commercial development ranked as low priorities for most residents.

City communication received mixed reviews. Residents were fairly satisfied with event notifications but expressed less confidence in the city’s transparency, follow-through on concerns, and accessibility of staff and council members. Email newsletters were by far the preferred communication channel, and most residents visited the city’s website only occasionally, though those who did generally found it adequate.

Finally, residents were divided on whether the city’s split across I-25 created meaningful challenges. Those who saw it as a problem described feelings of two separate communities, uneven development and amenities, and poor physical connectivity between the east and west sides. There was strong interest in better pedestrian and bike crossings, more balanced commercial development, and a unifying town center that would help both sides feel like one cohesive city.