There are bunch of items that also increase the initiative, making Alert less needed in the d4 system. With a decent dex and a +2 bonus you will usually go first.
There is probably a reason for them to not go with the TT system. I think it is fine this way, considering how many enemies you usually have to fight. The increased randomness would make sure that enemies are always more likely to go first.
Increased randomness to initiative is a good thing. As you mentioned, with items also having initiative, the Alert Feat just exacerbates the problem. Characters rolling with 10+ to initiative on a d4 system is overkill. This removes alot of the difficulty from the game.
