For left-to-right execution, the dissonance between execution and statement separators (including functions and list notation) is very bad as you note.[0] For right-to-left execution, assignment has a similar problem: the name really needs to be on the left to allow easily scanning definitions, but this conflicts with the evaluation order. Particularly statements with multiple assignments in them don't work at all. Right-to-left is usually framed as a more "declarative" or "functional" style (and note that application and composition of mathematical functions follows this order) while left-to-right is considered "imperative".
In my first major language, I,[1] I did change to a left-to-right order. For BQN, which is intended to stick much closer to traditional APL, I didn't want to make such a large break from the methods that have worked in the past. I do think I'll introduce some mechanism like a "pipe" that goes in statement order so that longer chains of functions and operators can be built up without such a discontinuous reading order.
[0] https://mlochbaum.github.io/BQN/problems.html#right-to-left-...