letters. There are sixteen spokes extending from the hub, each connected at their outer ends by a hexadecagonal frame and braced by green beams, each connected through rivets and gusset plates. The eight stationary cars on the hexadecagonal frame are painted white while the sixteen motion-capable cars are painted red-and-yellow or blue-and-yellow. At West 12th Street is a neon sign weighing , overhangs the sidewalk by , and is raised above the sidewalk; the sign contains letters spelling "" and arrows pointing to the actual wheel. Yet another Wonder Wheel sign with arrows is located on a southern approach to the wheel. The wheel itself is tall, weighs and is powered by a motor. It has 24 fully enclosed passenger cars, each able to carry six people, giving a total capacity of 144 passengers. Sixteen of the cars slide inward on snaking tracks, falling outward as the wheel rotates. The remaining eight cars are fixed to the rim, giving a traditional Ferris wheel experience to passengers. Originally, the Wonder Wheel was located on two large blocks of concrete above a pool of water. Rides There is no height restriction for the Wonder Wheel. In 2015, a Newsday article estimated that 200,000 people ride the Wonder Wheel every year. , over 35 million rides have been taken on the wheel since it first opened. There are separate queues for the stationary and moving cars. A ride on the Wonder Wheel costs 10 credits; the cost of each credit varies depending on how many are purchased, but generally cost $1 if purchased individually. Each ride consists of two rotations around the Wonder Wheel. Safety The Wonder Wheel has had a strong safety record. The former owner-operator of the ride, Fred Garms, told the New York Daily News in 1981 that "I put my money into maintenance. [...] My father used to say, 'The dollar you don't put in today will cost you $2 tomorrow.'" News outlets reported in 2000 that the Wonder Wheel had not experienced any significant incidents in its history, operating every summer season since its opening; this remained true even after Hurricane Sandy flooded the surrounding amusement park in 2012. The wheel was also designed with an emergency hand crank in case of power losses. The ride's first owner-operator, Herman Garms, overhauled and painted the ride each year, to protect it from the harsh weather associated with New York