I’m wondering what the supposed “lesson” learned was supposed to be?
Offer some evidence to back up your opinions on roundabouts? For example: higher accident rates, higher fatal crashes, roundabout costs XXX amount more than a stoplight, more congestion, etc. Something besides "Eww.... roundabouts! Icky!"
Blindly screaming "Waste of money" without some numbers to back it up doesn't get us anywhere. I almost never hear a good, cogent, logical reason behind a "Waste of money" complaint - it's usually a clear indication to me that the person spouting the opinion is ignorant about WHY the money is being spent. It's usually a knee jerk reaction to something they invested little thought into.
The visceral hatred towards roundabouts tells me one thing - they get people's attention. That's honestly a rare thing today - drivers are usually more obsessed with their phones than what's outside their windshield. Also, the consequences of screwing up at a roundabout tend to be minor v.s. the horrific wrecks when someone gets T-boned at high speed at a stoplight.