the US tendency for regulation by judicial settlement instead of legislation and the much more democratic decision making process
I'd wager that the democratic decision process in Switzerland is far more stringent and the public is far more involved.
On every level, be it a local tram line, a canton wide, or intra-cantonal rail system, or projects of national importance and great expense, like [1], the public is virtually always consulted via referendum and has to green light the project.
This is also a huge strength of the system. Because once a project is approved, the funds are secured and politicians can't pull shenanigans to pull, or divert funding.
I'd wager that a high democratic involvment into major (and expensive) projects is rather an asset, than a liability.